Star Indian all-rounder Washington Sundar is a doubtful starter for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. According to a report in Cricbuzz, the 26-year-old all-rounder from Tamil Nadu is unlikely to attain
full fitness ahead of India’s first match in the T20 World Cup 2026 against the United States of America. India will open their campaign in the T20 World Cup 2026 on February 7 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
As per the available information, Sundar has been ruled out of the five-match T20I series against New Zealand which is starting on January 21 in Nagpur and is also a doubtful starter for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Sundar suffered an injury (side strain) while bowling during the first India-New Zealand ODI played at BCA Stadium in Vadodara on Sunday, January 11. He left the field in pain after bowling five overs but came to bat at No. 8 for the Shubman Gill-led side in the 301-run chase and remained unbeaten on 7 runs from 7 balls.
Following the conclusion of the match, BCCI stated that Sundar had “reported an acute onset of discomfort in his left lower rib area while bowling” and will not feature in the remaining two ODIs. But now it has been reported that the “subsequent scans have now prompted the board to ask him to report to the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru for further assessment and rehabilitation.”
As per Cricbuzz, Sundar is “unlikely to achieve full recovery” before the tournament begins on February 7.
Sundar was replaced by Delhi cricketer Ayush Badoni in the ODI squad on Monday, and it will be interesting to see who comes in his place for the T20I series.
Badoni is one option for the BCCI selectors and they could also consider including Bengal’s spin-bowling all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed as Sundar’s replacement for the T20I series. Shahbaz, who last played for India on October 7, 2023, was added to India’s squad as a replacement for Axar Patel when he suffered an injury during the T20I series against South Africa last month.
