India vs West Indies 2019: Navdeep Saini replaces Deepak Chahar for 3rd ODI 

What's the story?

Indian fast bowler Deepak Chahar has been ruled out of the 3rd ODI against West Indies due to pain in his lower back. The selectors have announced Navdeep Saini as Chahar's replacement in the ODI squad.

The background

Following the confirmation that Bhuvneshwar Kumar would not be fit to play in the ODI series against West Indies, Deepak Chahar was included in the side for the first two games.

In the first match, he conceded 68 runs in 10 overs while taking the wicket of Sunil Ambris. In the second game, at Vizag, the right-arm pacer bowled 7 wicket-less overs, giving away 44 runs.

Navdeep Saini, meanwhile, made his T20I debut earlier this year on the back of impressive performances in the IPL and domestic cricket.

He is yet to play a match for the Indian ODI team but, in 5 T20I appearances, Saini has picked up 6 wickets at an economy rate of 8.05.

The heart of the matter

UPDATE: Deepak Chahar has been ruled out of the 3rd @Paytm #INDvWI ODI. Navdeep Saini replaces him.Details - https://t.co/7vL5GJobTU pic.twitter.com/QbHQL1KMyY

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 19, 2019

The BCCI released an official statement earlier today confirming that Chahar felt some pain in his lower back after the second ODI. In order to afford him some time to rest and regain full fitness, Navdeep Saini has been called up to the side for the final game.

India’s squad for the 3rd ODI: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (VC), Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (WK), Shivam Dube, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini

What's next?

With the series evenly poised at 1-1 heading into the final game at Cuttack, it will be interesting to see if India decides to hand Saini his maiden ODI cap.