Why Bhuvneshwar Kumar is not playing the first T20I against Windies

India are currently taking on the Windies in the first T20I of the three-match series, being held at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Rohit Sharma, who is leading the side in Virat Kohli's absence, won the toss and elected to field first. The Men in Blue have got off to the best possible start, reducing the strong Windies batting line-up to 29-3 in 5 overs. While Shai Hope was dismissed run-out, Denesh Ramdin and the dangerous Shimron Hetymer were dismissed by Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah respectively.

India decided to go into the match with three pacers in the form of Umesh, Bumrah, and Khaleel Ahmed and two spinners - Kuldeep Yadav and Krunal Pandya. It was quite surprising to see that Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was named in the 12-man squad yesterday, was not included in the playing XI.

However, Rohit Sharma revealed that Bhuvneshwar had a gastric complaint due to which he did not take the field and opted to stay back at the hotel.

Here is the playing XI for today's game:

Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, K Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav

Bhuvneshwar would have most likely been a part of the playing XI in place of either Khaleel Ahmed or Umesh Yadav.

Kumar has had a decent year so far, despite a few ups and downs and an injury problem as well. He was unlucky to miss out on India's Test series against England, which they lost 3-1. However, he came back strong and played a big role in India's Asia Cup success.

He will look to make a comeback in the 2nd T20I and get back into his groove. After the conclusion of the three-match T20I series against the Windies, India will travel to Australia.