Bhuvneshwar Kumar created history after being named in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) playing XI for their vital Indian Premier League (IPL) match against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Thursday (May 7). The star pacer has been key to the defending champions’ remarkable season so far, and today’s game gives them the chance to take a spot in the table.
Bhuvneshwar is playing the 200th match of his IPL career. The star pacer is the league’s second-highest wicket-taker and tops the list among pacers. So far in his career in the world’s richest league, the 36-year-old has 215 wickets to his name.
The pacer made his debut in the league for Pune Warriors India (PWI) in 2011 and played for them till 2013. He played for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) from 2014 to 2024 before joining Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to 2025.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar Creates History
Bhuvneshwar has etched his name in the history books by becoming the first specialist pacer or pace-bowling all-rounder to play 200 matches in the league. Overall, he is the 12th player to achieve this feat, and all of them have been from India.
Among specialist fast bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah is second on the list, and Bhuvneshwar holds a huge lead. If all-rounders that are medium pacers are concerned, Kieron Pollard is second on the list.
Most Matches Played By Specialist Pacers/ Pace-Bowling AR In IPL History
| player | Matches | Wickets | role | Teams |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 200 | 215 | Pace Bowler | PWI, SRH, RCB |
| Kieron Pollard | 189 | 69 | Pace Bowling AR | MI |
| Dwayne Bravo | 161 | 183 | Pace Bowling AR | MI, CSK, GL |
| Hardik Pandya | 160 | 82 | Pace Bowling AR | MI GT |
| jasprit bumrah | 155 | 186 | Pace Bowler | MI |
| Umesh Yadav | 148 | 144 | Pace Bowler | DD, KKR, RCB, GT |
| Shane Watson | 145 | 92 | Pace Bowling AR | RR, RCB, CSK |
| Sandeep Sharma | 142 | 151 | Pace Bowler | PBKS, SRH, RR |
| Andrew Russell | 140 | 123 | Pacer Bowling AR | DD,KKR |
| Mohammad Shami | 129 | 141 | pacer | SRH, KKR, DD, GT, LSG |
| Trent Boult | 125 | 145 | pacer | DC, SRH, KKR, MI, RR, |
Meanwhile, among bowlers and all-rounders who are concerned, Bhuvneshwar is only the third player to achieve the remarkable feat. Only Ravichandran Ashwin (221) and Ravindra Jadeja (264), who are both spin-bowling all-rounders, are ahead of Bhuvneshwar in the elite list.
Meanwhile, MS Dhoni (278) has played the most IPL matches, while Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma (277) are joint-second on the list. Dinesh Karthik (264), Shikhar Dhawan (222), Ajinkya Rahane (207), Suresh Raina (205), Robin Uthappa (205), and Ambati Rayudu (204) have also played over 200 games.
Only Yuzvedra Chahal (229) has more wickets than Bhuvneshwar in the league’s history, while Sunil Narine (201) is second on the list.
As far as fast bowlers are concerned, Jasprit Bumrah (186) and Dwayne Bravo (183) are second and third on the list behind Bhuvneshwar.
Bhuvneshwar has also won the IPL twice in his career after being part of SRH’s and RCB’s sole title-winning teams to date in 2016 and 2025, respectively.
