Bhuvneshwar Kumar started his international career with a bang, making massive impacts early on. And went on to build a remarkable career, especially in white-ball cricket.
Bhuvi’s IPL career start was in total contrast to his international career. He warmed benches with Bangalore for two seasons and then delivered average performances for Pune.
But Bhuvi’s performances got a boost as he moved to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). The right-arm medium-pacer went on to become SRH’s bowling mainstay.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for 10.75 crore in the IPL 2024 auction. The bidding started at 2 crore and quickly turned into a competition between Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants. RCB made a late bid of 10.75 crore to win the race for the talented bowler.
Here we’ll look at Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s IPL career stats, records, and salary in every season.
Early Debut in IPL Career
After warming the bench for two seasons with Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Bengaluru), Bhuvneshwar Kumar finally made his IPL debut on May 8, 2011.
He moved to Pune Warriors that season and played his first IPL game against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings). Bhuvi had a good headstart to his career, taking two wickets for 14 runs in three overs.
The pacer played three more matches in his debut season and picked up another wicket.
| Match | Punjab Kings vs Pune Warriors, 51st match |
| Series | Indian Premier League 2011 |
| Venue | Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali |
| Date & Time | May 08, 08:00 PM LOCAL |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar Performance in IPL 2025
| Date | Versus | Overs | Wickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28/03/2025 | Chennai Super Kings | 3.0 | 1/20 |
| 02/04/2025 | Gujarat Titans | 4.0 | 1/23 |
| 07/04/2025 | Mumbai Indians | 4.0 | 1/48 |
| 10/04/2025 | Delhi Capitals | 4.0 | 2/26 |
| 13/04/2025 | Rajasthan Royals | 4.0 | 1/32 |
| 18/04/2025 | Punjab Kings | 3.0 | 2/26 |
| 20/04/2025 | Punjab Kings | 4.0 | 0/26 |
| 24/04/2025 | Rajasthan Royals | 4.0 | 1/50 |
| 27/04/2025 | Delhi Capitals | 4.0 | 3/33 |
| 03/05/2025 | Chennai Super Kings | 4.0 | 0/55 |
| 23/05/2025 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 4.0 | 1/43 |
| 27/05/2025 | Lucknow Super Giants | 4.0 | 1/46 |
| 29/05/2025 | Punjab Kings | 2.0 | 1/17 |
| 03/06/2025 | Punjab Kings | 4.0 | 2/38 |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar Performance in IPL 2024
Bhuvneshwar Kumar wasn’t up to the mark in IPL 2024 while playing for SRH. He wasn’t consistent in his performances, returning wicketless in nine innings. Bhuvi managed to take only 11 wickets in 16 games while he averaged close to 49.
Last Match in IPL 2025
Bhuvneshwar Kumar last featured in an IPL game on June 3, 2025. The IPL 2025 Final was his last match that season.
| Match | Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Final |
| Series | Indian Premier League 2025 |
| Venue | Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad |
| Date & Time | 7:30 PM IST, Thursday, June3, 2025 |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar IPL 2025 Auction Price & History:
Bhuvneshwar Kumar bagged his first IPL deal back in 2009. Royal Challengers Bangalore picked him for INR 6 lakhs in the auction.
Bhuvi didn’t play a single game for RCB in the next two seasons and joined Pune Warriors in 2011. The franchise signed him for INR 20 lakhs.
After three seasons with Pune, he was back in the auction pool. In the 2014 IPL auction, Sunrisers Hyderabad spent INR 4.25 crore to acquire the services of Bhuvi.
Since then, Bhuvi has been SRH’s mainstay in the bowling department. The franchise raised his salary to INR 8.5 crore in 2018 before dropping it to INR 4.2 crore in 2022.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for 10.75 crore in the IPL 2025 auction.
| Year | Price | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 6 Lac | Bangalore |
| 2010 | 6 Lac | Bangalore |
| 2011 | 20 Lac | Pune |
| 2012 | 20 Lac | Pune |
| 2013 | 20 Lac | Pune |
| 2014 | 4.25 Cr | Hyderabad |
| 2015 | 4.25 Cr | Hyderabad |
| 2016 | 4.25 Cr | Hyderabad |
| 2017 | 4.25 Cr | Hyderabad |
| 2018 | 8.50 Cr | Hyderabad |
| 2019 | 8.50 Cr | Hyderabad |
| 2020 | 8.50 Cr | Hyderabad |
| 2021 | 8.50 Cr | Hyderabad |
| 2022 | 4.20 Cr | Hyderabad |
| 2023 | 4.20 Cr | Hyderabad |
| 2024 | 4.20 Cr | Hyderabad |
| 2025 | 10.75 Cr | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| 2026 | 10.75 Cr | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
IPL Bowling Stats Overview
| Year | Mat | WKTS | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4W | 5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 190 | 198 | 5/19 | 27.33 | 7.69 | 21.32 | 2 | 2 |
| 2025 | 14 | 17 | 3/33 | 28.41 | 9.29 | 18.35 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 16 | 11 | 3/41 | 48.45 | 9.35 | 31.09 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 14 | 16 | 5/30 | 26.56 | 8.33 | 19.13 | 0 | 1 |
| 2022 | 14 | 12 | 3/22 | 31.92 | 7.34 | 26.08 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 11 | 6 | 1/16 | 55.83 | 7.97 | 42.00 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 4 | 3 | 2/25 | 33.00 | 6.98 | 28.33 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 15 | 13 | 2/24 | 35.46 | 7.81 | 27.23 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 12 | 9 | 3/26 | 39.33 | 7.66 | 30.77 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 14 | 26 | 5/19 | 14.19 | 7.05 | 12.07 | 0 | 1 |
| 2016 | 17 | 23 | 4/29 | 21.30 | 7.42 | 17.21 | 1 | 0 |
| 2015 | 14 | 18 | 3/26 | 22.61 | 7.87 | 17.22 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 14 | 20 | 4/14 | 17.70 | 6.65 | 15.95 | 1 | 0 |
| 2013 | 16 | 13 | 3/18 | 28.53 | 6.50 | 26.30 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | 11 | 8 | 2/9 | 35.12 | 7.20 | 29.25 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | 4 | 3 | 2/14 | 22.33 | 6.09 | 22.00 | 0 | 0 |
Want to know which team Bhuvneshwar Kumar will play for in IPL 2026?
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the backbone of RCB bowling attack for almost a decade. But the franchises didn’t retain him before the IPL 2026 auction owing to his mixed outings in the past few seasons.
But Bhuvi is one of those few bowlers who offers reliability at the start and the death. He can also swing the ball in and out, which is an additional strength with the new ball.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for 10.75 crore in the IPL 2024 auction after a fierce bidding war between Mumbai Indians, Lucknow Super Giants, and RCB.
