India’s ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match Test series against South Africa, the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced on Tuesday.

“Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has sustained a minor stress fracture in his lower back and has been ruled out of the upcoming Test series,” said the official Twitter account of BCCI, while confirming that Umesh Yadav will replace the in-form pacer.

Bumrah, who earlier in the series became the fastest Indian pacer to pick up 50 Test wickets, has had an exceptional time in red-ball cricket since his debut in early 2018, racing to 62 wickets in just 12 matches.

He was in fine form in West Indies, picking up back-to-back five-wicket hauls. In the just-concluded two Test-series, Bumrah finished with 13 wickets at a strike rate of 9.23. That included figures of 5/7 in the first Test and a hat-trick in the first innings of the second Test at Sabina Park, Jamaica. India won the series 2-0.

“The injury was detected during a routine radiological screening. He will now undergo rehabilitation at NCA and will be monitored by the BCCI Medical Team. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Umesh Yadav as Bumrah’s replacement,” the BCCI said in a release.

With this development, Bumrah’s wait to play a Test match in home conditions is set to continue. The pacer, who made his debut in January last year in South Africa in the longest format, has played all his Test matches away from home so far.

During the Test series in WI, Virat Kohli had said that Bumrah’s fitness was paramount for him.

“Bumrah’s workload is most important which is why he didn’t play any white-ball games (against West Indies) after the World Cup. He will be a key factor for us as long as the World Test Championship continues,” Kohli had said.

The three-match Test series, for the Freedom Trophy, starts on 2 October in Vizag. The second Test is in Ranchi (10 October) while the final match is in Pune (19 October). This will be India’s second assignment in the World Test Championships while South Africa begin their campaign with this series. Virat Kohli and Co currently sit atop the table with 120 points.

Earlier, KL Rahul was left out of India’s squad for the Test series while Shubman Gill received his first call up in the longest format. Rahul’s omission confirms that the selectors are indeed going with Rohit Sharma as the first choice partner for Mayank Agarwal at the top of the order, as MSK Prasad had hinted earlier.

India’s revised squad: Virat Kohli (C), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma and Shubman Gill.