Yuvraj to return due
to a finger injury

A finger injury to Yuvraj Singh has put paid to his prospects of playing in the Test series against England later this month. The explosive batsman is returning home on Tuesday.

Yuvraj, who was tipped to be included in the Test side alongwith Mohammad Kaif after impressive performances in the just concluded one-day series, chipped a bone in the little finger of his left hand. The injury will take at least three weeks to heal, Indian team communication manager Amrit Mathur said on Monday.

It was, however, not immediately clear whether the Punjab batsman would join the side after recovering from the injury.

Yuvraj, who hurt himself while fielding in the final of the NatWest Trophy at Lord's on Saturday, did not let the injury deter him from making a quickfire 69 off 63 balls when India batted.

The left-hander does not figure in the 16-member Test squad, which will play a five-match series with England, starting on July 25. But his splendid performance in the series prompted the Board of Control for Cricket in India to call an emergency meeting of the selection committee, in Kolkata on Tuesday, to consider including him, as well as Kaif, in the Test side.

Kaif and Dinesh Mongia, the third player who was to return home along with Yuvraj after the tri-nation series, will stay back pending the decision of the selection committee.

Obviously, unaware of the injury to Yuvraj, selection committee chairman Chandu Borde said in Pune on Monday that both Yuvraj and Kaif are likely to be included in the Test squad.