ICC World T20 2016: Yuvraj ruled out of the World T20, Manish Pandey replaces him

Manish Pandey has replaced Yuvraj Singh in India’s squad for the knockout games of the ICC World T20

Manish Pandey has replaced Yuvraj Singh in the Indian Cricket Team’s squad for the knockout stages of the ICC World T20 2016 after the latter suffered an ankle injury in the team’s final league game against Australia on March 27.

Pandey, a right-handed batsman, who plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise in the IPL, had been named as a standby player for Yuvraj on March 28, immediately after the southpaw got injured, and today, the Event Technical Committee of the tournament has confirmed his addition to the squad.

The 26-year-old cricketer had recently risen to fame after he scored a match-winning century against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground to help India salvage some pride in the final ODI en route a humiliating 4-1 series loss in the ODI series held in January.

Apart from that game, Pandey has played 2 T20I, which were against Zimbabwe in July last year, and has played 4 ODIs in total. The big break for Pandey has come at last after he was sidelined initially from the squad much to the disappointment of many.

Pandey has had an impressive IPL stint for the KKR franchise scoring valuable runs in crunch situations, and would add to India's finishing prowess batting at No. 5.

Yuvraj was injured during his innings of 21 that he played against Australia in Mohali on March 27

For Yuvraj, though, the injury comes as a disappointment, as he had recently made a comeback into the T20 side in the series against Australia, which India had won 3-0.

As for the tournament, in the first semi-final England take on New Zealand at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi on March 30, and India square off against West Indies on March 31 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

Pandey’s inclusion may either result in his straightforward acquisition of the No. 5 slot vacated by Yuvraj, or India may choose Ajinkya Rahane over him as Rahane has been travelling with the team and has played T20I of late in contrast to Pandey, who, if picked for the game against West Indies, would be playing his first international game in 2 months.

However playing Rahane at No. 5 would not be prudent either, as in the shortest format of the game Rahane finds is easier to bat in the top order, as his IPL records while playing for Rajasthan Royals suggest.

It would be a selection conundrum for captain MS Dhoni and we would have to wait until March 31 to see what India decide.