Bhuvneshwar Kumar with skipper Virat Kohli
Just a day after Shikhar Dhawan was sidelined from the impending ODI series against West Indies at home, uncertainty over the participation of pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar develops which might lead India to make their second change to the original 15 announced for the three-game contest. The series begins in Chennai on December 15.
The nature of the injury is yet to be confirmed, but as per a report in ESPNCricinfo, the team management are waiting for the final confirmation from the medical staff based on which the replacement will be announced. And going by past preferences, one between Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed and Shardul Thakur might be picked as a replacement.
This will be the third time in 2019 that Bhuvneshwar will be sidelined with an injury if the reports from the medical staff return negative. He had earlier limped off the field with a hamstring strain during India's clash against Pakistan in World Cup 2019. He returned during the semifinal round of the tournament but missed back-to-back home series against South Africa and Bangladesh owing to a niggle. He was last seen in the Windies T20I series where he picked up two wickets in three games.
Earlier on Thursday, in-form Mayank Agarwal was announced as the replacement for Dhawan who is understood to have not yet recovered fully from the knee injury he had incurred in November during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The injury had also forced him to miss the three-game T20I series against West Indies where Sanju Samson was named as his replacement.
It is the second time that Mayank has been called for ODI inclusion although he is yet to make his debut in the format. He was earlier called as a replacement for Vijay Shankar during World Cup 2019.
