Sunrisers Hyderabad's pacer and key player Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been ruled out of the ongoing edition of IPL due to a thigh muscle injury.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar sustained the injury during the 19th over of Sunrisers Hyderabad's match against Chennai Super Kings on October 2. Left-arm pacer Prithvi Raj Yarra, a former player of the Kolkata Knight Riders team, has been announced as Bhuvneshwar Kumar's replacement. SRH's official handle on Twitter said this afternoon, "Bhuvneshwar Kumar is ruled out of #Dream11IPL 2020 due to injury. We wish him a speedy recovery! Prithvi Raj Yarra will replace Bhuvi for the remainder of the season." Kolkata Knight Riders purchased Prithvi Raj for his base price of Rs. 20 lakh in the player auction for IPL 2019 following his commendable performance in the 2018-19 Duleep Trophy. In an interview with Sportstar, Sunrisers Hyderabad's mentor V.V.S. Laxman spoke about the reason for choosing Prithvi Raj Yarra as Bhuvi's replacement. "Prithvi has IPL experience also having played for Kolkata Knight Riders last season. He has been really impressive in the nets and also bowled well in the practice matches. Hence, we thought he could be the right option. Moreover, since Prithvi is in the bio-bubble we felt all safety measures are already being taken care off in his case and his selection will not be an issue on any front as he can straightaway join the squad without having to undergo the six-day quarantine," Laxman stated, as quoted in the report.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's departure might be a huge deprivation for SRH as the pacer has been one of the most consistent players in the last several editions of the tournament. Apart from winning the purple cap in IPL 2016 and 2017, he was also the leading wicket-taker for the team for four consecutive seasons from 2014-2017.

Update ??

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is ruled out of #Dream11IPL 2020 due to injury. We wish him a speedy recovery!

Prithvi Raj Yarra will replace Bhuvi for the remainder of the season.#OrangeArmy #KeepRising

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) October 6, 2020