Ball that goes both ways: Sachin Tendulkar explains Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s ‘wavering’ spell ahead of IPL final – Watch

Former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar believes that Bhuvneshwar Kumar has found success in IPL 2026 through the use of the ‘swinging seam’, a variation that makes it difficult for batsmen to predict the movement of the ball.Bhuvneshwar played a key role in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s run to the IPL 2026 final, taking 26 wickets in 15 matches. Ahead of Sunday’s title clash against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Tendulkar explained how the veteran seamer has adapted his approach this season.“If you look at Bhuvi’s seam this season, I think it’s a wobbly seam. So when there’s a wobbly seam, the batsman often doesn’t know if the ball is going out or in. And that’s what Bhuvi is doing,” Tendulkar said in a video posted on X.According to Tendulkar, Bhuvneshwar moved away from relying mainly on conventional swing and instead concentrated on bowling straighter lines while using seam movement to create uncertainty.“Bhuvneshwar Kumar has bowled really well this season. In the previous season when Bhuvi bowled, he had a long outswinger or inswinger. He developed this variation; it’s his conscious decision, but he bowled as straight as possible. When a bowler wants to bowl a long outswinger or inswinger, the seam is always towards when the first or second outswing is towards the swing. the seam is towards the leg slip at right-handed and the position of the wrist also changes,” he said.Tendulkar also highlighted Bhuvneshwar’s control and consistency, saying his accuracy allows him to make the most of the variation.“He was very, very accurate. If you see, his lines were very, very tight, either off-stump or at most towards the fourth stump. And from there he tries to bowl a straight ball with a wobbly seam,” the 53-year-old said.“The ball is either going out or in. So it’s a bit difficult to pick because the signal is less from the wrist. What happens in the wobbly seam is that if the seam goes one way, the ball goes out, and if it goes the other way, it goes in or stays straight. So that’s been Bhuvi’s success mantra for this season, I think,” Bhuvi added.Royal Challengers Bengaluru will look to Bhuvneshwar to impress with the new ball when they take on Gujarat Titans in the final of IPL 2026. The fast bowler heads into the title race with 26 wickets and remains one of the team’s key players this season.