"Yes," Bhuvneshwar Kumar smiles, "make Ash a selector!"
The room bursts out laughing.
He was responding to R Ashwin's recent suggestion that Bhuvneshwar, 36, should be back in India's T20I plans after a stellar run in Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) colours in IPL 2026.
Bhuvneshwar holds the Purple Cap with 21 wickets this season, his fourth of 20+ scalps. Only Yuzvendra Chahal has had more such seasons. A few weeks ago, he also became the first fast bowler to cross the 200-wicket mark in the IPL. His death-overs economy of 7.8 is the best. And his 12 wickets are the second most in the powerplay. He's a big reason RCB are in the running for a top-two finish.
One day after his four-wicket haul and last-over six helped RCB win a thriller against Mumbai Indians in Raipur, there is no lingering adrenaline. Bhuvneshwar exudes peace and perspective.
"Acceptance is difficult, but once you learn to make peace with it, you think differently," he says. "The day I was dropped from the Indian team, I was at peace. I had been there for a decade, seen everything. That is why it was easier to able to detach [from things you hold on to]."
It's been four years since he played a T20I for India, and a lot longer since he was in Test whites. He listens attentively to every question. His responses are detailed and meticulous. But every few minutes, he comes up with a punchy one-liner. All signs of a man relaxed. At 36, Bhuvneshwar understands he needs to listen to his body a bit more.
His calendar is deliberately simple, carefully spaced out - busy enough to keep him connected to the game without overwhelming his body.
"It may sound clichéd, but when you are tired and don't want to go, you still have to go…that is discipline," he says. "If you do it repeatedly, that consistency creates hunger. You want to achieve something, you have to evolve physically and mentally. Doing things day in and day out makes you consistent on the field as well.
"That has been my routine for years, especially since I haven't been part of the Indian team. I keep training - gym, practice, ground work…doing the same things over and over. I only play IPL, UPT20 and Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s, so there's enough cricket to stay in touch and enough breaks to stay fresh and train properly.
"At 36, it's tougher physically. Recovery takes much longer compared to when you are young. But in the last few years, I've had enough time to train harder than before. The exercises are mostly the same, but the intensity is higher. More weights and more focused work.
"Our trainer [Shanker] Basu sir keeps giving me programmes. I also have a trainer back home. Both of them work together with me throughout the year."
"When you come to the IPL, you should already be fully prepared. IPL [nets] is more like revision" Bhuvneshwar on his off-season work
Bhuvneshwar also puts in significant skill work to stay relevant in T20 cricket. The knuckleball that had Rohit Sharma nicking off on Sunday night took significant effort to master for someone previously known only as a swing bowler.
"The way batters are coming at you now is very different from 10 years back," Bhuvneshwar says. "T20 has evolved a lot. Even three-four years ago, if you scored 200, it felt like something you could defend.
"Now, if you score 200, it feels like it's just 200. That's how the game works. Batters do something and bowlers evolve in response. I've accepted that. I'm at peace with it. Earlier, giving away 40 runs felt like a bad day. Now, if you go for 40, it can still be considered good bowling."
Eventually, Bhuvneshwar says, wickets are his currency. He doesn't think his economy rates may have been spoken of as much if not for the wickets he has taken. "Wickets make everything look good," he says. "When you take wickets, batters take a few balls to settle and there's a better chance of keeping teams under control. The mindset now is such that even 200 looks chaseable. So wickets become even more important."
Some wickets stand out more than others. Jos Buttler's dismissal against Gujarat Titans is his favourite this season. "It was my fourth over [the eighth of the innings]. I was brought on to take wickets but nothing much was happening," Bhuvneshwar recalls. "Buttler was shuffling and playing towards the leg side because there was only one fielder there. Virat [Kohli] came and said, 'He's shuffling, slip in a yorker' and I did."
Buttler was bowled round his legs, and RCB had a third wicket. While it wasn't quite enough to win, it underlined Bhuvneshwar's willingness and confidence to try different things, which he says comes from methodical prep work.
"It's not really about IPL nets," he explains. "When you come to the IPL, you should already be fully prepared. IPL [nets] is more like revision. Whatever work you've done through the year, you just revise it here and try to apply it in matches.
"But there's no guarantee you'll execute perfectly every time. Everyone gets under pressure. That's why, what you do throughout the year is very important. Players need to know their strengths and what they want to develop."
He, though, is quick to acknowledge that there's no one-size-fits-all formula in T20s. "Hard-length bowling is back, but it's not for everyone and not on every wicket. It depends on conditions, [ground] dimensions and the batter. If there's help in the wicket, you bowl hard lengths. But if there's no help and the younger generation is batting, they don't care who is bowling or what the wicket is doing.
"Everything depends on the batter, conditions and situation. Sometimes you have to be traditional and sometimes you need extra variations. There's no one plan for everyone."
And yet, for someone constantly speaking about evolving, Bhuvneshwar does not believe he has changed fundamentally. The repetition of routines - refined and well structured - has helped him succeed in an era that is punishing for bowlers.
"The ball is definitely coming out nicely. But honestly, that was the case last year too. It's just that when you take wickets, everything looks good," he says. "People think you are trying something different, but I'm not doing anything different. I haven't trained differently. I'm doing the same things. But wickets give confidence. And confidence helps you execute better."