India vs West Indies: Bhuvneshwar Kumar ruled out of ODI series

Shardul Thakur, who was in the T20 squad for the Bangladesh series and till Thursday was playing the Ranji Trophy game against Baroda, is likely to be named as Bhvneshwar's replacement for the series which starts on December 15.

Hyderabad: Team India suffered major blow ahead of the upcoming three-match ODI series against West Indies as their top pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been ruled out with an injury he suffered in the recently concluded T20I series.

Meanwhile, Shardul Thakur, who was in the T20 squad for the Bangladesh series and till Thursday was playing the Ranji Trophy game against Baroda, is likely to be named as Bhvneshwar's replacement for the series which starts on December 15.

"Bhuvneshwar has been ruled out of the series and Shardul will be replacing him," a senior BCCI functionary privy to the development told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Also, India's bowling coach Bharat Arun, in a press interaction on Friday evening in Chennai, where the first ODI will be played, said a media statement would be issued later after consultation with the team physiotherapist regarding Bhuvneshwar’s injury and his replacement.

"The physios are taking a call. They would give a press release later in the evening after the assessments," Arun said.

Bhuvneshwar did not train with the team in Chennai on Friday, where India are currently camped for the ODI series opener.

Noticeably, Bhuvi is the second player to be ruled after India lost Shikhar to an injury prior to the ODI series, with Mayank Agarwal coming in place of him.

India will play three ODIs against West Indies in Chennai (December 15), Visakhapatnam (December 18) and Cuttack (December 22).

India will then host Australia for a three-match ODI series in January next year.