Washington Sundar’s T20 World Cup Aspirations Clouded After New Zealand Series Exclusion

New Delhi:

India all-rounder Washington Sundar has been ruled out of the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand. He sustained a rib injury during the first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara and walked off the field after bowling five overs. He later came out to bat at eight in the run-chase but was ruled out of the remainder of the series after the match.

However, it has now been determined that the all-rounder will not be able to recover in time for the series scheduled to start on January 21 in Nagpur. “Washington Sundar has been ruled out from T20 series vs NZ due to side strain,” a BCCI official told PTI. Sundar’s injury also puts him in serious doubt for the T20 World Cup that is scheduled to get underway on February 7.

With Tilak Varma already in race against time to get fit for the mega event, Sundar’s injury has put Team India in a fix. Varma is already ruled out of the first three T20 matches of the upcoming series and it will be interesting to see how long the selectors wait for the duo to recover before announcing the replacements for the World Cup.

BCCI’s statement on Sundar’s injury

After the first ODI, the BCCI had confirmed Sundar’s injury in a statement. “Washington Sundar reported an acute onset discomfort in his left lower rib area while bowling during the first ODI against New Zealand at the BCA Stadium, Vadodara, on Sunday. He will undergo further scans, following which the BCCI Medical Team will seek expert opinion,” the statement read. Ayush Badoni replaced him in the ODI squad.

India’s updated squad for T20I series vs New Zealand: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma (only for 4th and 5th T20I), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ishan Kishan (WK)

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