Published: Dec 13, 2019, 09:11 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 13, 2019, 09:11 PM (IST)
Another blow for Team India ahead of the upcoming three-match ODI series against West Indies as their premier pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been ruled out with an injury. Although there has been no confirmation or official statement by BCCI or Indian team management about Bhuvneshar’s injury yet.
The 29-year-old pacer did not at his very best during the second T20I in Thiruvananthapuram. However, the nature of Bhuvneshwar’s injury remains unknown, but it is believed that it is not related to the hamstring issue. It affected him during the World Cup earlier this year.
Bhuvneshwar had just made a return to the national squad during the T20Is against West Indies. The 29-year-old pacer picked up two crucial wickets of Brandon King and Kieron Pollard in the third and final T20I to contribute to India’s series-clinching win in Mumbai on Wednesday.
India defeated West Indies by 67 runs at Wankhede to claim the series 2-1.
Snapshots from #TeamIndia‘s training at the Chepauk Stadium ahead of the 1st @Paytm ODI against West Indies.#INDvWI pic.twitter.com/3hHofAK7ZS
BCCI (@BCCI) December 13, 2019
With Navdeep Saini still far away from being match ready, the selection committee headed by MSK Prasad has decided to opt for the services of Shardul Thakur in Bhuvneshwar’s absence. The panel also mulled over the name of Umesh Yadav, who showed good form during the Bangladesh Tests.
If Bhuvneshwar gets ruled out of the ODIs versus West Indies, he will become the second player after regular opener Shikhar Dhawan to miss the home series. Dhawan, who suffered a freak knee injury during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy recently, was replaced by Sanju Samson for the T20I series.
Test opener Mayank Agarwal has taken Dhawan’s place for the ODI series.
