Washington Sundar Out of ODI Series Against New Zealand; Ayush Badoni Called Up

Washington Sundar's Injury Forces Replacement

Mumbai, Jan 12: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that all-rounder Washington Sundar will not participate in the remainder of the ODI series against New Zealand due to a side strain.

In his place, 26-year-old Ayush Badoni has been called up for his first national selection.

Badoni, who has played 27 List A matches, has accumulated 693 runs and taken 18 wickets, and will join the team in Rajkot for the second ODI scheduled for Wednesday.

According to the BCCI, Sundar experienced acute discomfort in his left lower rib area while bowling during the first ODI at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara on Sunday. He will undergo additional scans, and the BCCI Medical Team will consult with specialists. Consequently, Sundar has been ruled out of the remaining two ODIs.

The Men’s Selection Committee has officially named Ayush Badoni as Sundar's replacement, and he will meet the squad in Rajkot.

This injury marks the second setback for India in the ODI series, following Rishabh Pant's exclusion just days before the first match due to a side strain, with Dhruv Jurel stepping in for him.

Additionally, Tilak Varma, who recently had surgery for a groin issue, will miss the first three T20Is in the upcoming five-match series starting January 21 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.

This situation poses a significant challenge for the Indian team, especially with the T20 World Cup approaching. Sundar is currently part of India's World Cup squad, but it remains unclear if he will recover in time for the T20I series.

India’s revised squad for the 2nd and 3rd ODIs includes: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), and Ayush Badoni.