IND vs NZ 2026: 'It really was a surprise' - Ayush Badoni's call-up leaves former cricketers blank

Former India cricketers Robin Uthappa and Irfan Pathan failed to understand the rationale behind the inclusion of Ayush Badoni in India's ODI squad for the ongoing white-ball series against New Zealand.

Badoni was named as Washington Sundar's replacement for the second and third ODIs of the series after the latter faced a rib fracture during the Vadodara encounter.

Uthappa clarified that while he did not have any doubts regarding Badoni's potential, he was not sure whether the Delhi cricketer was fully fit to take on the challenge of international cricket.

“I didn’t understand it at all. I absolutely couldn’t make sense of it. It was completely out of left field. I even went and checked his scores in the recent past, in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and this one as well. I think he is a high-potential player, but I don’t know if he is India-ready yet,” shared Uthappa in a video on his YouTube channel.

In the same video, Irfan underscored that it was not as if Badoni had lit up the domestic cricket scene like a few other players. Like Uthappa, the former India all-rounder also expressed that Badoni's sudden call-up came up as a surprise. 

“I was a bit surprised, honestly. I was a bit surprised. Guys like Ayush Badoni have not done that well, right? I mean, he hasn’t exactly set domestic cricket on fire. It hasn’t really happened like that. He had three decent scores against South Africa A and Australia A, and then in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he picked up four wickets in three games. They probably thought that he could bowl a bit and bat down the order. But yes, it was a surprise. It really was a surprise,” Irfan noted.

Interestingly, Badoni did not feature in either of the second or third matches. Nitish Kumar Reddy was brought into the XI for the clash in Rajkot, which India eventually lost by seven wickets. The third ODI is being played today (January 18).

However, the only change which the Men in Blue made in Indore was bringing Arshdeep Singh into the squad instead of Prasidh Krishna. Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to field first. The series-deciding clash is currently underway at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, where the visitors have been asked to set a total by the Shubman Gill-led side.