Johannesburg, Sept. 23: It seems to be the season for pre-tournament injuries and India vice-captain Yuvraj Singh joined that list when he hurt himself fielding at a practice session here on Wednesday morning ahead of their opening Group A Champions Trophy against Pakistan at Centurion on Friday.

India were at nets at the University of Witwatersrand on Wednesday morning when Yuvraj picked up the injury, which saw him take no further part either with bat or ball. He went for a ball to his right, which hit him on the little finger, and he immediately came off the field.

In a terse one-liner, the Board of Control for Cricket in India said, "Yuvraj Singh has fractured a finger in his right hand and has been ruled out for six weeks. The selectors have chosen Virat Kohli as a replacement for Yuvraj Singh. He will fly out as soon as formalities are completed."

The ICC’s event technical committee has approved Kohli as a replacement player. With Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan already not in the squad for injury and Gautam Gambhir coming back after missing the Compaq Cup in Sri Lanka with a groin strain, any further depletion in the Indian ranks could hit them badly in this tournament format that has little room for manoeuvre or slippage.

Pakistan, too, were minus a key batsman, captain Younis Khan, in their opening game against the West Indies though he is expected to make a return — if only for that one match to start with — on Saturday in Centurion’s clash against India.

Incidentally, Yuvraj had injured himself in practice during the 2006 Champions Trophy in India.

Yuvraj had hurt his knee while playing kho-kho with teammates at Mohali on the eve of India’s crucial Champions Trophy tie against Australia in October 2006 and also missed the subsequent tour of South Africa.

Following Yuvraj's injury, Gambhir, who himself is recuperating from a groin injury, was named the vice-captain of the team.