Zaheer, Sreesanth ruled out of West Indies test series

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Pacemen Zaheer Khan and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth have been ruled out of the test series against West Indies due to injuries, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) said on Friday.

Abhimanyu Mithun and Praveen Kumar were named as replacements for the three tests, the BCCI said in a statement.

"Zaheer has a right ankle problem and Sreesanth has a right elbow problem. Both players will require some time off for rehabilitation," BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan said.

World champions India, also ranked number one in tests, are on tour in the Caribbean for a Twenty20 match, five one-day internationals and three test matches.

Zaheer, who was rested for the shorter versions, and Sreesanth joined a long list of Indian cricketers who are skipping the full tour of the Caribbean.

Regular openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir missed out due to shoulder injuries while Yuvraj Singh was ruled out due to a lung infection.

Sachin Tendulkar, who was rested for the limited-overs series, opted out of the tests to spend time with his family.

India, playing their first ODI series since winning the World Cup on home soil in April, lead the five-match series 2-0 with the third match to be played in Antigua on Saturday.