ICC T20 World Cup 2016: Yuvraj Singh ruled out of competition with ankle injury
India suffered a setback on the eve of the semi-final clash against West Indies as all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has been ruled out of the remainder of the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 with an ankle injury. Singh, who was named the player of the tournament when India won the 50-over World Cup at home, suffered the injury while batting in the final Group 2 game against Australia in Mohali.
MRI scans had ruled out a fracture or ligament tear, but he is said to be experiencing pain. India had called up batsman Manish Pandey as a replacement on 28 March. He has played only two T20 Internationals, both against Zimbabwe in Harare last July. Pandey has also played four One-Day Internationals, and in the last one, he scored a match-winning unbeaten maiden century.
India now have a to decide if they will replace Singh with Pandey or Ajinkya Rahane, the Mumbai batsman who has been part of India's T20 squad over the course of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2016. Rahane's last T20 outing was during the Asia Cup against Pakistan in Mirpur, where he was out for a duck, trapped in front by Mohammad Amir.
Singh has not had a very good ICC T20 World Cup campaign so far, scoring just 52 in four games while picking up only one wicket. What works in his favour is that that skipper M S Dhoni is not a big fan of chopping and changing and prefers to go with a settled line-up, but now with the southpaw ruled out he will be forced to make the change.
India who came into the competition as favourites are scheduled to play the second semi-final against West Indies on 31 March at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. The hosts won the inaugural T20 title in 2007 and were also finalists in the last edition losing to eventual winners Sri Lanka.
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