Bad news for Team India before ODIs vs New Zealand, star player out, BCCI names THIS cricketer from Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s team as replacement

Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the three-match ODI series against New Zealand after suffering a side strain durimg a practice session ahead of first ODI

New Delhi: Star India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the three-match ODI series against New Zealand after suffering a side strain. The Indian wicketkeeper-batter sustained the injury during a practice session ahead of the opening match on Sunday. BCCI has named Dhruv Jurel as his replacement and has already joined the squad in Vadodara.

Pant experienced discomfort in his right lateral abdominal region

Pant experienced sudden discomfort in his right lateral abdominal region during India’s practice session on Saturday afternoon at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara.

“Pant felt a sudden onset [of] discomfort in his right lateral abdominal area while batting in the nets during India’s practice session on Saturday afternoon at the BCA Stadium, Vadodara,” a BCCI statement said.

“He was taken for MRI scans immediately and the BCCI medical team had a detailed discussion with an expert on his clinical and radiological findings. Pant has been diagnosed with a side strain (oblique muscle tear) and is subsequently ruled out of the ODI series.”

Dhrtuv Jurel is yet to make his ODI debut

Jurel, who has not made his ODI debut, will serve as KL Rahul’s back-up option in the squad. He earns his call-up after an impressive run in List A cricket, as he scored six fifty-plus knocks in his last seven innings, which featured two centuries for Uttar Pradesh.

Following the opening ODI in Vadodara, the series moves to Rajkot on January 14 and Indore on January 18. The focus will then shift to the five-match T20I series which is scheduled to be held in Nagpur (January 21), Raipur (January 23), Guwahati (January 25), Visakhapatnam (January 28) and Thiruvananthapuram (January 31).

India’s updated ODI squad: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Shreyas Iyer (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (WK).