Bhuvneshwar Kumar Added to India’s Squad for Fifth T20I After Arshdeep Singh Injury

India have added pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar to their squad for the fifth and final T20I against West Indies after Arshdeep Singh sustained a blow to his bowling shoulder during the fourth match in Hyderabad, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Friday.

The final T20I will be played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on October 17. The BCCI said a decision on Arshdeep’s availability would be taken before the match, depending 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,” the BCCI said in a statement.

The addition gives India another pace option ahead of the series decider, with the teams locked at 2-2 after four matches.

WEST INDIES LEVEL SERIES WITH 24-RUN WIN

West Indies defeated India by 24 runs in the fourth T20I in Hyderabad to draw level in the series. Shai Hope’s unbeaten century powered the visitors to 247/3, before India fell short despite their efforts in the chase.

India began the series with a comfortable eight-wicket victory while chasing 172. West Indies responded in the second match in Ranchi, chasing down a target of 250 to win by reaching 252/4 in 18.3 overs.

India regained the lead in the third T20I, defending 223 to secure a 14-run win despite West Indies finishing at 209/7. The visitors then produced another strong batting performance in Hyderabad to set up Saturday’s decider.

INDIA’S UPDATED SQUAD

India’s squad for the fifth T20I against West Indies is as follows:

Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Naman Dhir and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

With inputs from ANI