Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 13 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan credited Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar's Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 success to his consistent and repeatable action for years.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has emerged as the Orange Cap holder in the IPL 2026 season. In the 11 matches so far, the right-arm pacer has scalped 21 wickets at an exceptional average of 15.29 with one four-wicket haul.

He has been one of the major contributors to RCB's attempt at the title defence so far, as they are positioned second on the IPL points table with seven wins in 11 matches so far.

Speaking on JioHotstar, JioStar expert Irfan Pathan spoke about why Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been so successful in IPL 2026 for RCB. He praised the pacer for his consistency and control, saying his long-standing, repeatable bowling action has been key to his success in the Indian Premier League. Pathan highlighted Bhuvneshwar's precise wrist position, seam control, and ability to swing the ball both ways with accuracy, adding that his experience allows him to execute his plans perfectly under pressure.

'Bhuvneshwar has an amazing and highly repeatable action. He has had a 16-year-long IPL career and hasn't changed his action one bit. When you have the same action for such a long period, you can hit the areas you want to target. At the same time, his wrist position and the way he manoeuvres it is masterful, with very little change in seam position, whether he is bowling the inswinger or moving it away, and all of it with so much control. When a bowler is running in at a certain speed, you only get a fraction of a second to react, and he has the ability to land the ball exactly where he wants to with the right fields. That's where experience comes into play,' Pathan said.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is currently the highest wicket-taking pacer in the history of the Indian Premier League, with 201 wickets in 201 matches. Overall, he ranks second on the all-time wicket-takers list, behind only Yuzvendra Chahal, who leads the chart with 229 wickets.

Bhuvneshwar will look to continue his brilliant form with the ball in the IPL 2026 in RCB's next match, against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), on Wednesday. (ANI)