Injured all-rounder Washington Sundar to also miss T20 series against New Zealand

Washington Sundar is set to spend more time on the sidelines in India’s upcoming fixtures with the spin-bowling all-rounder now ruled out of the five-match T20I series against New Zealand that gets underway next week.

Sundar had experienced discomfort in his lower left rib while bowling during the first ODI against the Black Caps in Vadodara on Sunday and had spent a considerable amount of time away from the field.

Though he walked out to bat later in the evening, steering India to victory in the company of KL Rahul, the off-spinner was ruled out of the remaining games of the series.

According to news agency Press Trust of India, Sundar needs more time to recover from the side strain and thus will be skipping all five T20Is against the Kiwis.

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“Washington Sundar has been ruled out from T20 series vs NZ due to side strain,” a BCCI official told news agency Press Trust of India.

Will Badoni replace Sundar in India squad for New Zealand T20Is as well? 

Delhi and Lucknow Super Giants middle-order batter Ayush Badoni had replaced Sundar in India’s squad for the ODI series against New Zealand, which currently stands at 1-1 following the Black Caps' clinical seven-wicket victory in Rajkot on Wednesday.

It remains to be seen if Badoni, had earned his maiden India call-up three days ago, also replaces the Gujarat Titans all-rounder for the T20Is as well.

The T20I series between the Men in Blue and the Black Caps gets underway in Nagpur on Wednesday, 21 January with Raipur (23 January), Guwahati (25 January), Visakhapatnam (28 January) and Thiruvananthapuram (31 January) hosting the remaining fixtures.

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Sundar isn’t the only injury concern for the upcoming T20Is with Tilak Varma set to miss the first three matches of the series after undergoing testicular surgery in Rajkot recently.

The injury also casts a shadow over Sundar’s participation in the ICC T20 World Cup that India will be co-hosting with Sri Lanka from 7 February to 8 March.

The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee had earlier selected the same 15-man squad for the New Zealand T20Is as well as the T20 World Cup, where the Men in Blue enter as the defending champions.

Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill left out of the squad while Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh were included, the former rewarded for his red-hot run in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.