India might have suffered an injury scare before the T20 World Cup 2026. With less than 1 month to go for the ICC event at home, all-rounder Washington Sundar left the field in the India vs New Zealand 1st ODI after delivering his 5th over of the day. Nitish Kumar Reddy took over the fielding duties from Sundar for the remainder of the first innings.
Washington Sundar injured?
Sundar had supposedly suffered a side strain, an injury that can rule a player out for 3-4 months, depending on the severity. However, later, the commentators provided an update on the spinner.
Harsha Bhogle informed the listeners that Sundar has sprained his back while bowling. He added that the medical team was monitoring Sundar, and it’s uncertain whether he’ll come out to bat in the second innings.
Now, back sprains aren’t as serious as side strains. In fact, players often need no more than a couple of days to recover. But in certain circumstances, it may take 2-4 weeks to return to their physical best. This certainly sounds like good news for India.
The Men in Blue would hope that Washington’s back on his feet soon. If not for the ODI series, then the T20I series against the Kiwis. As a spin-bowling all-rounder, India will need Sundar for a home T20 World Cup.
India’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad
Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel (vc) Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.
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