With Washington Sundar injured, Team India has been compelled to bring about a change as they prepare for upcoming matches against New Zealand.
Sundar sidelined after injury in first ODI
Washington Sundar, the Indian all-rounder, has suffered an injury in the first match and is not a part of the currently running ODI series against New Zealand. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the news officially on Monday.
It was reported that Sundar felt pain in his lower ribs while bowling in the first ODI. He was then scanned and the BCCI medical team is awaiting expert opinion on the injury’s severity. As a precaution, he has been pronounced out for the rest of the series.
Ayush Badoni named as replacement
In an unexpected decision, the selection committee for the Indian men’s team has chosen Ayush Badoni, a talented young all-rounder from Delhi, to take the place of Sundar. Badoni will be included in the Indian squad for the second ODI match in Rajkot.
The admittance of Shehbaz Ahmed into the squad was a strong common opinion, yet the selectors chose Badoni for the role instead. Though he has been in the limelight only for a brief time, the 25-year-old has already created a significant impact through his performances with the Lucknow Super Giants in IPL as a middle-order batter with the capability of performing part-time bowling.
Sundar’s brief outing in first ODI
New Zealand’s first ODI meeting saw Sundar bowl five overs, give away 27 runs at an economy of five point four and not take any wicket. He partnered KL Rahul during the tricky stage and finished the innings without being out for seven runs.
Gambhir connection sparks debate
Badoni’s choice has sparked varied responses on the internet. Supporters of Badoni think that his selection was in some way connected to Gautam Gambhir, who had earlier advocated for Badoni when he was the mentor of Lucknow Super Giants and had even let him play in the IPL.
Although Badoni’s IPL performances have been very promising and he is still representing Delhi in the local matches, his recent form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy was not too good. He appeared in four matches, scored 16 runs and also claimed four wickets.
Updated India squad for ODI series vs New Zealand
Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer (Vice-Captain), Ayush Badoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal.
India will now consider wisely changing their team for the important last matches of the one-day international series with New Zealand..
