All-rounder Washington Sundar has been ruled out of the upcoming 5-match T20I series against New Zealand, starting next week in Nagpur. The BCCI released an official statement on Friday evening, confirming that the Tamil Nadu cricketer won’t feature in the T20Is due to a side strain as he has been ‘advised rest for a few days’.
“Washington Sundar underwent scans after reporting an acute onset of discomfort in his lower rib area while bowling during the first ODI against New Zealand at the BCA Stadium, Vadodara, on 11 January,” the BCCI release stated.
“This was followed by an in-person consultation with an expert. He has been diagnosed with a side strain and has been advised rest for a few days, following which he will report to the BCCI Centre
of Excellence (COE) for further management of his injury,” it added.
On the other hand, the BCCI selection committee has named Ravi Bishnoi as Sundar’s replacement and has also added batter Shreyas Iyer to the squad as a replacement for Tilak Verma for the first three matches.
“The Men’s Selection Committee has named Ravi Bishnoi as his replacement,” the release further read.
“The Men’s Selection Committee has also added Shreyas Iyer to the T20I squad for the first three matches as a replacement for the injured Tilak Varma,” it added.
India’s Squad for New Zealand T20Is:
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Shreyas Iyer (first three T20Is), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ishan Kishan (WK), Ravi Bishnoi.
India’s preparations for the T20 World Cup have been disrupted by unexpected injury setbacks. It started with Tilak Varma undergoing surgery for an abdominal issue while representing Hyderabad in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025–26. Varma was hospitalised after experiencing sudden pain, but is now stable and recovering well.
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer returns to India’s T20I scheme of things after more than 2 years. He last played a T20I for India in 2023, against Australia in Bengaluru.
