VADODARA: In a major blow to India, especially ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup at home, off-spinning all-rounder Washington Sundar has been ruled out of India’s remaining two matches of the ongoing home ODI series against New Zealand after suffering a strain during the opening ODI in Vadodara on Sunday.In fact, at the moment, it is doubtful if the reliable but injury-prone Sundar will even return to action for the five-match T20I series against the Kiwis, which will start on January 21 in Nagpur.
“Yes, Sundar has been ruled out of the remaining two ODIs against New Zealand (at Rajkot on Jan 24 and at Indore on Jan 28) due to the side strain he picked up during the first ODI at Vadodara on Sunday night,” a source in the BCCI told TOI on Monday. Sundar is the second India player to be ruled out of the New Zealand ODI series at home due to injury after wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant was hurt in the nets while taking throwdowns. Sundar’s injury will worry Team India a bit more since he is part of India’s 2026 T20 World Cup squad and the tournament is now less than a month away.At the post-match press conference, Harshit Rana, when asked about Sundar’s injury, said: “Washington has a side strain. He was in pain while batting. Our medical team will assess and will update.”Hampered by the injury, Sundar could bowl just five overs during New Zealand’s innings, in which he conceded 0 for 27. He later came out to bat at No. 8 after Rana was promoted ahead of him. The left-hander was visibly struggling to run between the wickets but chipped in with a valuable seven not out off seven balls, adding 27* in 16 balls with KL Rahul for the seventh wicket to take India home in a tense chase with four wickets to spare.While wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel was picked as Pant’s replacement, the BCCI is likely to name Sundar’s replacement soon too.
