Picture Credit : BCCI
India have suffered yet another massive blow as all-rounder Washington Sundar is suffering from a rib injury, following which he has been ruled out of the T20I series against New Zealand. It will be a sign of concern as Sundar is also part of the T20 World Cup 2026 squad for India. The main event starts in less than a month. In the first ODI, Washington Sundar bowled five overs for 27 runs and walked off midway through the New Zealand innings and did not return to the field. He was subsequently ruled out of the ODI series but as things stand he has not yet fully recovered from the injury and the latest update is that he is ruled out from T20Is. Washington was ruled out from the ODIs due to the onset of discomfort in his left lower rib area and seems like he has not yet recovered. Apart from Washington Sundar, Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was also ruled out of the ODI series after suffering a side strain which he suffered on the eve of the first game.
However Pant is not in the mix for the T20Is. Another player who is injured is middle order batter, Tilak Varma also is injured unavailable for the first three T20Is against New Zealand due to a groin injury that required surgery. So Indian team are losing key players in the lead-up to the main event. During the ODIs, Ayush Badoni replaced Sundar and now in the T20Is his replacement is yet to be named and it will be interesting who gets the nod. India will start their World Cup campaign on February 7. Now it has been confirmed that the all-rounder is set to miss the T20I series against New Zealand. It will be interesting to see if he recovers before the World Cup. Sundar is part of the squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026.
