India have brought experienced fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar into their squad for the fifth T20I against the West Indies after Arshdeep Singh suffered a blow to his bowling shoulder during the previous match, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Friday.
The final match of the five-game series will be played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, with both teams level at 2-2.
The BCCI said Arshdeep’s participation in the decider would depend on his recovery, with his fitness to be assessed before the match.
The left-arm pacer sustained the injury during Wednesday’s fourth T20I in Hyderabad, where the West Indies defeated India by 24 runs to draw level in the series.
India won the opening match by eight wickets but lost the second after the visitors successfully chased a target of 250. The hosts responded with a 14-run victory in the third game before suffering another defeat in Hyderabad.
In the fourth T20I, Shai Hope’s unbeaten century helped the West Indies post 247/3. India fought back during the chase but finished 24 runs short of the target.
Bhuvneshwar’s addition strengthens India’s pace-bowling options ahead of the series decider, particularly with Arshdeep’s availability uncertain.
India’s updated squad includes Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Naman Dhir and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
