Yuvraj ruled out of World T20

Manish Pandey has been drafted into the team as a cover for the injured Yuvraj Singh ahead of Thursday's World Twenty20 semifinal against the West Indies.

Yuvraj Singh hurt his ankle during India's last league game against Australia.

Middle-order batsman Manish Pandey has been called as a cover for the injured Yuvraj Singh ahead of Thursday's World Twenty20 semi-final against the West Indies.

Pandey arrived in Mumbai on Monday from his hometown Bengaluru and joined the Indian contingent as back-up for Yuvraj.

Yuvraj hurt his ankle early on in his 18-ball 21 during its last league game, a virtual quarter-final against Australia in Mohali on Sunday night. It is understood that the veteran batsman is unlikely to recover in time before Thursday's showdown against the Caribbean side at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.

The national selectors have zeroed in on Pandey, who justified his selection with a match-winning century during the ODI series Down Under earlier this year. It will be interesting to see if the BCCI seeks a replacement for Yuvraj from the event technical committee.

Ajinkya Rahane is the reserve batsman in India's squad for World T20 but according to an insider, the selectors and team management would prefer Pandey as back-up for the spot lower down the order, should Yuvraj be replaced.

Yuvraj, the star of India's triumphant World Twenty20 and World Cup campaigns in 2007 and 2011, had lost his place after a disastrous outing in the 2014 WT20 final against Sri Lanka. However, he was recalled to the side last October, as India started its preparation for the marquee event.