Yuvraj diagnosed with dengue fever

Indian middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh will miss Monday's tri-series ODI against Sri Lanka after being diagnosed with dengue fever in Dambulla. The development is a setback for Yuvraj, who has been battling poor form and fitness issues in recent months and was making a comeback to the limited-overs side after being dropped for the Asia Cup.

"Yuvraj Singh is not available for this game," MS Dhoni, India's captain, said on the eve of the game. "He has dengue. But he is out of danger." Yuvraj has had a disappointing tour of Sri Lanka, where he played only in the first Test. He caught the flu ahead of the second and was kept out of the third by Suresh Raina, who had scored a century on debut.

India's fitness concerns, however, did not end with Yuvraj and new-ball bowler Ashish Nehra is also a doubtful starter against Sri Lanka, while Ishant Sharma is also uncertain to play. "We are monitoring Ashish Nehra," Dhoni said. "He has got a bit of problem with his gluteus. So we will take the exact decision before the game. Ishant is shaping well. As of now these are the two players who may be missing out. And hopefully by tomorrow there won't be any addition to the list."

Dhoni said Dinesh Karthik, who had got struck on the hand while batting on an underprepared practice pitch, was fit and likely to play. The sidelining of Yuvraj and Nehra's possible unavailability are major setbacks to the team, which is already missing first-choice players such as Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Gautam Gambhir.

India conceded a bonus point during their 200-run defeat in the opening game of the tri-series and are presently bottom of the table.