Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik [ Images ] was on Monday ruled out of action for at least three weeks after he suffered a ligament tear of his left ankle during the Deodhar Trophy encounter between Central Zone and North Zone in Bangalore.

"Kartik got a ligament tear following a fall. He can't definitely play for three weeks. After that, an assessment will have to be made. It takes one-and-a-half months to get the tear alright," Dr Chetan Rai said.

• I'm fully fit, says Harbhajan

Kartik, who had the MRI done at the Hosmat Hospital, figured in the 14-member Indian squad for the first two Tests against South Africa [ Images ], announced by BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah.

Shah had said Piyush Chawla [ Images ] would be the replacement in case Kartik and Harbhajan Singh [ Images ] (who will undergo fitness test in Bangalore on March 21) are not fit.