Injured Mohammed Shami ruled out of Asia Cup, Bhuvneshwar Kumar named replacement

Shami has failed to fully recover from a hamstring injury.

New Delhi: Injured pace bowler Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of the Asia Cup T20 on Friday. He will be replaced by Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 15-member Indian squad.

The Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) revealed the development in a tweet:

News Alert: Mohammed Shami ruled out of #AsiaCup, 2016. @BhuviOfficial has been named as the replacement. — BCCI (@BCCI) February 19, 2016

The Indian board also released a statement, which read: "The BCCI medical team confirms that Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of Asia Cup, 2016. The decision has been taken to give him more time to recover from the Grade II injury to his left hamstring."

Shami, 25, has failed to fully recover from a hamstring injury that kept him out of the limited-overs series in Australia last month.

But he was nonetheless named in the Indian squad for both the Asia Cup and ICC World Twenty20. And this latest development has put his chances of playing in the marquee ICC event in a doubt.

Earlier, senior selection committee chairman Sandeep Patil had expressed his confidence in the bowler's return to fitness. He even claimed that "Shami had started bowling".

The group stage of Asia Cup starts on February 24 with India taking on hosts Bangladesh in Mirpur.

The World T20 will be held in India, starting March 8.