S Sreesanth as a replacement for injured pacer Praveen Kumar

The BCCI on Tuesday named S Sreesanth as a replacement for injured pacer Praveen Kumar in India’s 15-member World Cup squad after the latter was ruled out due to an elbow injury.Praveen has been fighting an elbow injury, which had also kept him out of the recent ODI series against South Africa.

Sources earlier told CNN-IBN that Sreesanth and R Vinay Kumar were the two names making rounds as replacement for Praveen and the Indian think-tank – which includes coach Gary Kirsten and captain MS Dhoni – preferred Vinay over Sreesanth in the squad.

“God has been kind to me, so I am playing the World Cup. I feel bad for Praveen, hope he recovers fast. I have been working on my game a lot and its been a learning experience, and am looking forward to the World Cup now,” Sreesanth told CNN-IBN.

“I was worried about my economy rate, but I think I am in control of it. Our fast bowling department is confident of the challenge. Our team is a perfect mix of talent and experience this time,” he added.

The pacer said that he was “very much misunderstood but I am in control of my emotions.”

I was looking forward to cheer for the team, but now I am excited I will be playing. Cricket comes first any day, it’s my priority always.”

Praveen Kumar, the India seamer, underwent a fitness test early on Monday morning at the National Cricket Academy, immediately after returning from England, where he had dashed last week to consult experts on his injured right elbow. Though there was no official word yet from the BCCI on Praveen, sources monitoring the developments have indicated that the fast bowler' dreams of playing his maiden World Cup were virtually over because the injury had not healed as fast as was expected.

Praveen had picked up the injury at the outset of the ODI series last month in South Africa and was sent back immediately as a precautionary measure to recuperate at the NCA. But the recovery did not go as planned and Praveen was rushed to meet Dr Andrew Wallace, a London-based surgeon, who has treated many Indian players including Sachin Tendulkar. The BCCI officials were tight-lipped about the development, but it is understood that the board wanted to first approach the tournament's technical committee to report on Praveen's injury and get the approval for his replacement.