Ayush Badoni Joins Indian Squad as Washington Sundar's Replacement Ahead of ODI
Badoni's Inclusion in the Indian Squad
Rajkot (Gujarat) [India], January 13: As India prepares for the second ODI against New Zealand, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak discussed the selection of young Delhi player Ayush Badoni. Kotak highlighted Badoni's impressive performances for India A and in the Indian Premier League (IPL), making him a suitable replacement for all-rounder Washington Sundar, who is sidelined due to injury.
With Sundar out for the remainder of the ODI series, Badoni's selection alongside all-rounders Riyan Parag, Rinku Singh, and Axar Patel raised eyebrows, especially since he had not been part of the squad previously.
During a press conference, Kotak stated, “He has been active and performing well. He has played for India A and done well. While the selectors make the final decisions, it’s clear that when Washington is unavailable, teams typically prefer to have a sixth bowling option. If we had only five bowlers and Washington got injured early in the match, it would leave us in a tough spot. Teams often look for an all-rounder who can contribute with both bat and ball.”
He continued, “It’s essential to have someone who can bowl a few overs if needed. Badoni has scored a couple of fifties for India A and has shown his capability in the IPL and white-ball formats, so we wish him the best.”
In his 27 List A matches, Badoni has accumulated 693 runs at an average of 36.47, boasting a strike rate of over 93, including one century and five fifties, with a top score of 100. He has also taken 18 wickets at an average of 29.72, with best bowling figures of 3/29.
Last year, during the South Africa A tour to India, Badoni scored 66 in the second unofficial ODI and had bowling figures of 0/15 in one match and 0/43 in another.
In the Australia A tour to India, he took three wickets in two matches at an average of 16.33 and scored 21 runs in one innings.
In the IPL, Badoni has played 56 matches for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), scoring 963 runs at an average of 26.75 and a strike rate of 138.56, including six fifties and a highest score of 74.
Squads:
India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul(w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Ayush Badoni, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel
New Zealand Squad: Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay(w), Michael Bracewell(c), Zakary Foulkes, Kristian Clarke, Kyle Jamieson, Adithya Ashok, Jayden Lennox, Nick Kelly, Josh Clarkson, Michael Rae.