India’s injury list continues to grow as Washington Sundar has now been officially ruled out of the remaining two ODIs against New Zealand. The BCCI confirmed on Monday that the all-rounder reported acute discomfort in his left lower rib area while bowling in the series opener in Vadodara and will undergo further scans, after which the medical team will seek expert opinion. With Sundar unavailable for the rest of the ODI series, the selectors have named Ayush Badoni as his replacement, with the youngster set to link up with the squad in Rajkot ahead of the second ODI. It is a huge boost for Badoni, who receives his first-ever national team call-up.
Harshit Rana confirmed after India’s win that Sundar’s injury will be assessed once the scans are done. Sundar might have aggravated his injury after batting in the second innings. All would hope that isn’t the case since Sundar is also part of the T20I series and the T20 World Cup 2026 that starts on February 7. Now, with the BCCI adding Badoni to the squad, it would be interesting if he gets game time right from the second ODI.
Right now, Nitish Kumar Reddy makes more sense to replace Sundar in the starting lineup in Rajkot on January 14. India would need to groom NKR as an all-rounder and they can’t do it while keeping him on the bench. However, India’s obsession of having three spin-bowling options could tilt the situation in Badoni’s favour. Badoni is a capable off-spinner and is well-versed in batting lower down the order as well.
Who is Ayush Badoni?
For those unaware, Ayush Badoni is Delhi’s Ranji Trophy captain and has been a crucial part of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) team in the IPL. Fascinatingly, it was under Gautam Gambhir’s mentorship when Badoni got a chance as a finisher at LSG in IPL 2022. He made a remarkable fifty on debut and since then LSG have trusted him continuously. Last year was Badoni’s best IPL campaign, where he racked up 329 runs at an average of 32.90 and at a strike rate of 148.19.
Badoni also has experience of playing for India A and has been a regular fixture for India’s second team, especially in white-ball cricket. In List-A matches, the 26-year-old has close to 700 runs at 36.47 and at a strike rate of 93.27. He was set to lead Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) quarter-final against Vidarbha as well on January 13. However, now, he has to join the senior team in Rajkot. Nitish Rana, instead, is likely to captain Delhi in the must-win encounter.
Earlier in the domestic season, Badoni smashed a double century as well for the North Zone. Prior to that, he had an ordinary Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2025 season for the South Delhi Superstarz. But that wasn’t the case in 2024, where he was perhaps the best player of the inaugural season of DPL, accounting for 522 runs at breathtaking average and SR of 52 and 225.00, respectively. Couple that with seven wickets as well.
India squad for 2nd & 3rd ODI vs New Zealand
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
