The big news: Shardul Thakur called in for Indore Test

Indian swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been ruled out of the third Test against New Zealand starting in Indore on Saturday because of a back injury. The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced on Wednesday that Kumar was nursing a back strain he suffered during the second Test at Eden Gardens. Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur has been called up as his replacement.

Bhuvneshwar was the star in the second Test at Kolkata, which India won by 178 runs to go 2-0 up in the three-match series. Bhuvneshwar took five wickets in the first innings to give India the upper hand.

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Umesh Yadav is most likely to return to the playing XI in the Indore Test in place of Bhuvneshwar, who is the third member of Team India to join the injury list after the loss of openers KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan.

Other top stories

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  2. Pakistan beat West Indies by 136 runs to win the third ODI in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Babar Azam scored his third ODI century on the trot to enable Pakistan to a 3-0 series win.
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