Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been added to the Team India squad for the fifth and final T20I of the ongoing series against West Indies after Arshdeep Singh sustained a blow to his bowling shoulder during the fourth match, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed in a media release on Friday.
The final match of the ongoing T20I series will be played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on October 17 (Saturday).
The BCCI media advisor said that Bhuvneshwar was added to the squad after Arshdeep sustained a blow to his bowling shoulder during the fourth T20I against West Indies, with a decision on Arshdeep’s availability for the final match to be taken based on his recovery. “Bhuvneshwar Kumar was added to the squad after Arshdeep Singh sustained a blow to his bowling shoulder during the fourth T20I of the series against West Indies on Wednesday in Hyderabad. A decision on his participation for the final T20I will be taken prior to the game based on his recovery,” says the BCCI press release.
Series Levelled at 2-2
West Indies defeated India by 24 runs in the fourth match of the five-match series, at Hyderabad, to level the series 2-2. While India cruised to a comfortable eight-wicket win in the opening match after chasing 172, the second T20I in Ranchi exposed their bowling as West Indies chased down a massive 250-run target, reaching 252/4 in just 18.3 overs. India bounced back in the third match, defending 223 to secure a 14-run victory despite West Indies scoring 209/7. However, the hosts once again struggled to contain the opposition in the fourth T20I, as Shai Hope’s unbeaten century powered West Indies to 247/3 before India fell 24 runs short.
India’s updated T20I squad for the fifth T20I against West Indies
Shreyas Iyer [C], Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan [WK], Sanju Samson [WK], Tilak Varma [VC], Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Naman Dhir, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.