Injured Praveen out of World Twenty20

Praveen Kumar, the Indian fast bowler, has been ruled out of the remainder of the World Twenty20 due to a side strain. His replacement will be Vidarbha and Delhi Daredevils fast bowler Umesh Yadav, who impressed with his pace during the recent IPL.

Yadav, 22, got the call from the Vidarbha Cricket Association earlier in the afternoon and he will leave for the Caribbean on Friday from Mumbai. Yadav, who picked six wickets at 30 in the seven IPL matches, acknowledged the help he got from Eric Simons, the Daredevils' bowling coach, who is also the Indian team's bowling consultant.

"I am completely surprised. And that, too, for a World Cup, I really find it hard to believe," Yadav told Cricinfo from the Nagpur airport. "But I have been enjoying my bowling especially in the last year so it is bearing the fruits now." Yadav was not part of the pool of 30 probables but needs a nod from the tournament's technical committee, which should be a formality.

Praveen had sustained the injury during a practice session at the 3Ws Oval and the Indian team management sent him for an MRI which revealed the injury. He bowled only one over in the victory over South Africa in St Lucia, but his services will be missed in Barbados, where the pitches have plenty of pace and bounce. If India decide to go with three fast bowlers against Australia on Friday, Karnataka seamer Vinay Kumar could make his international debut.