MANCHESTER: India’s swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar will miss the next two to three games with a hamstring injury, captain Virat Kohli said after the team’s emphatic victory against Pakistan.

Sharing the new ball with Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar was into his third over when he landed awkwardly and hobbled off the ground, leaving India one bowler short.

India still had enough depth in their bowling to restrict Pakistan and coast to a 89-run victory in the rain-hit match between the arch-rivals.

The team later said Kumar, whose ability to swing the ball makes him an asset in English conditions, could not take any further part in the match owing to tightness in his left hamstring.

“Slight niggle for Bhuvi, he slipped on one of the footmarks,” Kohli said at the presentation ceremony. “He’s out for two, maybe three games, but he should come back for us at some stage during this tournament.”

Kumar took five wickets in India’s first two matches and his injury is likely to facilitate the selection of fellow right-hand quick Mohammed Shami who is yet to play a match in the tournament.

Kohli said Kumar was ‘important’ to the team and that Shami was ‘raring to go’.

India have already lost opener Shikhar Dhawan to a hand injury though they remain hopeful the southpaw will be fit before the June 30 match against hosts England.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2019