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Karn Sharma

LEG-SPINNER Karn Sharma has been ruled out of India’s tour of Zimbabwe due to a fractured finger in his left hand. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said there will not be a replacement, which means India will now have only 14 players to pick from for the three one-day internationals (ODIs) and two T20s.

“It’s unfortunate for Karn that he had to miss out because of injury,” India captain Ajinkya Rahane said. “He was a crucial part of our team.”

Rahane said the reduction in squad strength didn’t make selection any easier. “It’s not easy as a captain to select 11 players because all the players in the squad are equally important for the captain and it’s really challenging to pick the best 11.”

Karn had played the fourth and fifth ODIs of the home series against Sri Lanka in November last year, taking no wickets for 125 runs in 19 overs. His unavailability leaves India with only two spin options — offspinner Harbhajan Singh and left-armer Axar Patel — for the series in Zimbabwe.

India arrives in Harare today and is scheduled to play ODIs on July 10, 12 and 14, followed by T20s on July 17 and 19. Rahane was named captain of a second-string squad that was missing MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan and Umesh Yadav.

Revised squad: Ajinkya Rahane (capt), M Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, Manoj Tiwary, Kedar Jadhav, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Harbhajan Singh, Axar Patel, Dhawal Kulkarni, Stuart Binny, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma.

— ESPN Cricinfo