India, Oct. 25 -- Stats are cold and objective, but the people behind them are human. Bhuvneshwar Kumar might be experiencing the effects of harsh numbers following his uneventful return to international cricket. The dismissal of Daryl Mitchell in the second T20I on Saturday was classic Bhuvi - follow the right-hander and beat him with a knuckleball. But that wicket itself was aligned to a statistical quirk. It came after a spell of 1434 days on the international circuit.

Such a long hiatus meant his two matches back against New Zealand returned lacklustre returns - 4-0-49-0 and 4-0-50-1. Those have been two of the three most expensive outings for Bhuvneshwar in T20Is. That may be hurtful for someone who has earned a living by being econ...