India face injury scare ahead of T20 World Cup 2026
The co-hosts have been dealt a blow in the ongoing ODI series against New Zealand, with key all-rounder ruled out due to injury.
India all-rounder Washington Sundar will not take part in the reminder of the ODI series after being reported of acute discomfort in his left lower rib area while bowling during the first ODI at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara on Sunday.
Sundar will undergo further scans, after which the BCCI Medical Team will seek expert opinion to assess the extent of the injury.
India have named Ayush Badoni as Sundar’s replacement, with the 24-year-old receiving his maiden call-up to the Indian ODI squad. Badoni is set to link up with the team in Rajkot, the venue for the second ODI of the series.
Sundar is a part of India's T20 World Cup squad with the co-hosts set to play five T20Is agaisnt the Black Caps following the ODI series, as both sides build up to next month's ICC Men's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
Apart from Sundar, India batter Tilak Varma has also been recovering from an injury and will miss the first three T20Is against New Zealand.
India squad for 2nd and 3rd ODIs:
Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Shreyas Iyer (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ayush Badoni
Sundar bowled five overs with the ball and made an unbeaten 7 during his time in the middle in the first ODI.
India closed out a superb chase in the first ODI on Sunday, chasing down the visitors' 300 with an over to spare. Virat Kohli stood out with the willow, falling just seven runs short of his century, while returning Shreyas Iyer was also in good touch, scoring 49.
The second ODI will be played in Rajkot on Wednesday, 14 January.