Bengaluru, Oct 16 (IANS) The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has added Bhuvneshwar Kumar to the squad for the fifth and final T20I against the West Indies in Bengaluru after Arshdeep Singh suffered a blow during the fourth T20I in Hyderabad.

"The Men's Selection Committee has added Bhuvneshwar Kumar to the India squad for the fifth T20I against West Indies. The final match of the ongoing T20I series will be played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on October 17, 2026," BCCI wrote in a statement.

Arshdeep has not been ruled out of the fifth T20I; however, the decision on his participation will be taken prior to the game, the BCCI added.

"Bhuvneshwar Kumar was added to the squad after Arshdeep Singh sustained a blow to his bowling shoulder during the fourth T20I of the series against West Indies on Wednesday in Hyderabad. A decision on his participation for the final T20I will be taken prior to the game based on his recovery," BCCI added.

Bhuvi's addition comes after Arsheep suffered a blow to his left shoulder while batting in the fourth T20I at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. While batting in the final over of the 248-run chase, Arshdeep was hit on his bowling arm off a bouncer from Shamar Joseph. The Indian seamer was in pain and batted the next ball before getting retired hurt as the Windies won by 24 runs to level the series.

Meanwhile, Bhuvneshwar was previously sent a call-up for India's T20I series against New Zealand, which begins on October 22 in Christchurch. The 36-year-old last represented India in the T20 World Cup semi-final against England at the Adelaide Oval in November 2022. A strong run in the Indian Premier League over the last two seasons has helped the experienced seamer force his way back into the national setup.

Bhuvneshwar claimed 45 wickets across the last two IPL editions for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and played an important role in the franchise's title-winning campaigns. His consistency with the new ball and wealth of experience have now earned him another opportunity in India's T20I setup.

India’s updated T20I squad: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma (VC), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Naman Dhir, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

--IANS

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