Injured Washington Sundar ruled out of New Zealand T20Is

Indian allrounder Washington Sundar has been ruled out of the five-match T20I series against New Zealand following the side strain he suffered in the first ODI in Vadodara last week.

Sundar had subsequently been ruled out of the remaining two 50-overs games, with the BCCI naming Ayush Badoni as his replacement. It is not confirmed whether Badoni will be added to the squad for the upcoming T20I series, which will run from January 21 to 31

It remains unclear whether Sundar’s participation in the 2026 T20 World Cup, which begins on February 7, will be affected. India will be in action on the opening day against USA in Mumbai.

As for the five matches against New Zealand, Sundar’s absence will not be a major concern with India having plenty of all-round options available in Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Abhishek Sharma, and Shivam Dube. Axar is the designated vice-captain for the series against New Zealand as well as the T20 World Cup.

Meanwhile, Tilak Varma also remains unavailable for at least the first three T20Is as he is recovering from a groin injury.

India's squad for New Zealand T20Is

Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma (unavailable for first three games), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice-capt), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (wk)