Injured Chanderpaul drops out of Sri Lanka tour

Less than 24 hours after Brian Lara passed a medical test and West Indies looked set to take a full strength squad to Sri Lanka key middle order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been ruled out with a back injury.

Chanderpaul had been given the all clear earlier in the week after an MRI scan, but as the West Indies training camp in Jamaicia drew to a close, he suffered from back spasms.

Team manager Ricky Skerritt admitted to BBC Online that the left-hander would be forced out of the seven-week long Asian tour.

"He has been ruled out due to back spasms that have been bothering since he arrived here for the Red Stripe Bowl," Skerritt said.

No replacement has so far been named, but fellow left-hander, Wavell Hinds, who was drafted into the squad as cover for Lara, is expected to take his place.

Chanderpaul, like Lara, has been dogged by injury for over a year, having missed four Tests in England last year with an elbow injury.

He only played one Test match in Australia too after suffering a stress fracture of the right foot.

The Sri Lanka tour begins on November 4 and the West Indies are scheduled to play three Test matches against Sri Lanka and in a tri-nation one-day tournament against the host team and Zimbabwe in December.