Yuvraj ruled out

Mohali: Just hours after Dinesh Kaarthick was put on standby, the Tamil Nadu gloveman’s comeback into Indian was given an official stamp when Yuvraj Singh was today ruled out of the one-day series against South Africa after a medical test revealed a tear in his left knee.

Having made his limited overs’ debut in 2004, Kaarthick has played just three ODI matches, all against England, the last being in April this year after selectors decided to give rest MS Dhoni for a match.

Yuvraj, who was provisionally included in the squad, will be reassessed again in two weeks to know whether he can take part in the following three-match Test series. “At this stage Yuvraj will be unable to participate in the upcoming ODI series in South Africa,” BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said.

The left-hander has been advised to follow some exercises and use crutches to take the load off the injured left knee by Board’s medical consultant Dr. Anant Joshi who examined the player in Mumbai. “According to Dr Joshi, there is a tear in the interior cruciate ligament with some amount of bruising of the bone in the left knee and there is a swelling of the knee,” Shah said.