Munaf to replace RP Singh, Tiwari is Yuvraj's cover

MUMBAI: Baroda pacer Munaf Patel will replace an injured Rudra Pratap Singh, who has been ruled out of the upcoming triangular One-Day International (ODI) series due to a hamstring injury, the Indian cricket board announced here Tuesday.

Bengal batsman Manoj Tiwari will also join the team in Australia as a cover for Yuvraj Singh, who is nursing a knee injury.

R.P. Singh had sustained the injury during the fourth and final Test that concluded here Monday. The left-arm pacer, who bowled only four overs during Australia's first innings on the second day of the fourth and final Test in Adelaide, has been ruled out of action for three weeks.

A Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) statement said that the decision to replace R.P. Singh with Munaf had been taken after chairman of the selection committee Dilip Vengsarkar had discussed the issue with his colleagues Sanjay Jagdale, Bhupinder Singh, Venkatpathy Raju and Ranjib Biswal, ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and team administrative manager Chetan Chauhan. Raju and Biswal are in Australia.

Yuvraj, who will consult an orthopaedic surgeon in Melbourne Wednesday, is expected to be fit for the second ODI against Sri Lanka at Brisbane Feb 5. The triangular series begins with an India-Australia tie in Brisbane Sunday.

Tiwari will be flying to Australia as soon as his visa and other formalities are completed, BCCI said.

Before the tri-series, India will also play a Twenty20 game against Australia at Melbourne Friday.