Bhuvneshwar Kumar of India during a training session at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch, New Zealand on October 21, 2026. Photo: Surjeet Yadav / CREIMAS for BCCIVeteran India fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar could make his comeback into international cricket in the side’s upcoming first T20I against New Zealand in Christchurch. New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner has said that Bhuvneshwar would love the conditions that will be offer over the course of the series, particularly with pitches in India increasingly favouring batsmen in limited overs cricket.“I think Bhuvi will love these conditions in New Zealand. If there’s anything in the wicket, he finds something out of it. On some flat ones in India, he still managed to nip the ball and swing the ball, so I think with the new ball out here, especially, it’ll be a challenge (for New Zealand).ALSO READ | ‘Vaibhav Sooryavanshi can’t walk into India XI’: Shreyas Iyer reveals teenager’s role in New Zealand“In India, it’s pretty challenging as a bowler these days. We’ve seen in the recent series, 250 getting chased down. Who wants to be a bowler, but he (Bhuvneshwar) might like it out here a little bit better.” Santner said he is hoping for it to be a contest in which bowlers dominate,” Santner told reporters on the eve of the first T20I.India’s recent ODI and T20I series against the West Indies saw run scoring records being demolished, with targets of over 400 in ODIs and over 250 in T20Is being chased down relatively easily. India head coach Gautam Gambhir himself was highly criticial of the conditions, twice raising concerns about the effect it could have had on the bowlers.Santner said that he is hoping that the conditions are favourable for bowlers over the course of the white-ball leg of India’s tour of New Zealand. The tour consists of the five-match T20I series that starts on Thursday, followed by a five-match ODI series. It ends with a two-match Test series. “I think maybe the first game it might be, but it can change pretty quickly. It’s very weather dependent. The second game is a used pitch, same pitch we used for first game. It could be a bit flatter. If it nips around, we’ve got to play accordingly. If it’s flat, you’ve got to play accordingly,” said the 34-year-old left-arm spinner.“If there is a little bit in it, you might have to change a few shots, but they’ve played on fast, bouncy wickets before. They’ve played all around the world and done really well. It’s going to be a challenge this series and we’re looking forward to it,” he said.Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.Tags:Bhuvneshwar Kumar