London: Bhuvneshwar Kumar added to Team India’s World Cup 2019 woes as the fast bowler was ruled out for at least the next two games with a hamstring niggle, confirmed skipper Virat Kohli after India vs Pakistan clash on Sunday. Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up the niggle in his third over against Pakistan after failing to get his footing right in the run-up. Mohammed Shami, who wasn’t considered for the Pakistan clash even with the overcast conditions, will replace Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the forthcoming matches, Virat Kohli said.
“Slight niggle for Bhuvi, he slipped on one of the footmarks. He’s out for two, maybe three games, but he should come back for us at some stage during this tournament. He is very important for us,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony after India thumped Pakistan by 89 runs.
Kohli added that “Shami was raring to go”. India’s next three games are against Afghanistan (June 22), West Indies (June 27) and England (June 30).
It is second big jolt for India as opener Shikhar Dhawan has already been ruled out of a few games due to a thumb injury, sustain during the match against Australia.
Kohli had said that Shikhar Dhawan will be in “a plaster for a couple of weeks” but hoped that the Indian opener would be fit for the latter half of the league stage and the following semi-finals.
Both Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar were key in their respective departments but Team India have enough firepower in their ranks to deal with the setbacks.
