A groin injury has ruled out right-arm pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar from India’s ODI series against West Indies, which begins in Chennai on Sunday, December 15.

Shardul Thakur, who has made 13 appearances for India so far, has been called up as his replacement. Thakur, 28, last played an international in October 2018, and this will be a chance for him to improve on his six wickets in five ODIs.

“Bhuvneshwar complained of pain in his right groin after the final T20I in Mumbai on Wednesday,” BCCI said in a release on Saturday. “He underwent an ultrasound scan conducted by a specialist and the BCCI medical team found that his sportsman’s hernia symptoms have resurfaced.”

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Bhuvneshwar will be the second person to be pulled out of the original ODI squad India had announced, with Shikhar Dhawan sidelined with a knee injury. Mayank Agarwal, who has impressed as an opener in Tests, will replace Dhawan in the ODIs.

Injuries have denied Bhuvneshwar a consistent run in the side, but he had a decent 2019, picking up 41 wickets in 28 games, with an average of 25.73 across formats, as opposed to his career average of 30.93.

Thakur comes into the series on the back good displays in domestic cricket – he has picked up nine wickets in his last seven appearances across formats for Mumbai.

India won the T20I series 2-1 against West Indies after a 67-run triumph in the decider in Mumbai. The ODIs will begin in Chennai on Sunday.