Injured Vinay Kumar out of Zimbabwe tour

Bulawayo:

R Vinay Kumar was on Sunday ruled out of the ongoing tri-series in Zimbabwe because of a knee injury and his Karnataka new-ball partner Abhimanyu Mithun will replace him in the Indian squad there.

"Vinay Kumar has injured his knee and has been ruled out from the ongoing tri-series in Zimbabwe. The All India Senior Selection Committee of the BCCI has chosen Abhimanyu Mithun as replacement for Vinay Kumar," BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement.

"He (Mithun) will fly out as soon as formalities are completed," he added.

Vinay Kumar was named in the second-string Indian team for the tri-series in Zimbabwe, also involving Sri Lanka, and the two Twenty20 Internationals against the hosts.

The 26-year-old right-arm pacer made his debut against Zimbabwe on Friday, claiming two wickets for 51 runs in his eight overs, which was not enough to avert India's embarrassing six-wicket defeat against Zimbabwe.

Vinay Kumar's place now goes to his 20-year-old Karnataka teammate Mithun who played his only ODI so far against South Africa at Ahmedabad in February.