India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar could miss as many as three matches in the 2019 ICC World Cup after sustaining a hamstring injury in the win over arch-rivals Pakistan.
Bhuvneshwar picked up the injury while bowling the fourth delivery of just his third over at Manchester on Sunday and played no further part in the remainder of the game subsequently.
Post India’s 89-run win at Old Trafford, skipper Virat Kohli confirmed that the seamer will miss the side’s next two to three games.
“He has a slight niggle,” Kohli told Star Sports after India’s win.
“It was because of slipping on the foot marks. It doesn’t look too serious at the moment. We are going to give it some time.
“Hopefully he will be ready in a couple of games, if not max by three games from now.”
Bhuvneshwar will definitely miss India’s upcoming clashes against Afghanistan and West Indies and is now facing a race to be fit in time for the crunch match against hosts England on June 30.
His injury follows that of opener Shikhar Dhawan who fractured his left thumb during India’s win over Australia. The left-hander faces up to three weeks on the sidelines but India have opted against picking a replacement for him at this stage.
With Bhuvneshwar injured, Kohli has backed Mohammed Shami to do the job in the pace department for the upcoming clashes.
“He (Bhuvneshwar) himself feels that the niggle is not too bad. Just time will heal it. He is going to be a very important factor for us so he hopefully he can recover well in time.
“We have got Shami ready and raring to go so we are not too worried about where the situation stands.”
India’s win over Pakistan means Kohli’s men have now picked up seven points in four games. They next face Afghanistan at Southampton on June 22.
