India fast bowler Navdeep Saini is in line to make his ODI debut against the West Indies in the series-deciding third match in Cuttack on Sunday.
Saini replaced injured seamer Deepak Chahar after the latter complained of lower back pain following the second ODI against the Windies in Visakhapatnam, which the Indians won to level the series.
The growing list of injury – especially to their top fast bowlers – is a big concern for the Indian team management ahead of their full tour of New Zealand in January.
Jasprit Bumrah (back), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (groin), Hardik Pandya (back) and now Chahar (back) have picked up major or minor injuries, putting enormous pressure on India's pace bowling resources.
However, in Navdeep the team has the fastest bowler in the country. While Bumrah is clearly the premier fast bowler in India, Saini is the quickest in operation at the moment.
The Delhi pacer touched 153kph on more than one occasion during the IPL earlier in the year and impressed in the five T20s he has played so far for the men in blue. He picked 3-17 on his T20 debut against the Windies in August and has six scalps from five matches.
