Is Washington Sundar unlikely to compete in the T20 World Cup? excluded from the T20I series against New Zealand

Washington Sundar, an all-rounder for India, will not play in the forthcoming five-match Twenty20 International series against New Zealand. After bowling five overs in the first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara, he left the field due to a rib injury. Later in the run chase, he came out to bat at eight, but following the game, he was disqualified for the rest of the series.

The all-rounder, however, will not be able to recuperate in time for the series, which is set to begin in Nagpur on January 21. "Due to a side strain, Washington Sundar will not play in the T20 series against New Zealand, a BCCI official informed PTI. Due to his injury, Sundar's participation in the T20 World Cup, which is set to begin on February 7, is also seriously doubtful.

Sundar's injury has put Team India in a difficult situation, and Tilak Varma is already running out of time to recover for the major event. It will be interesting to see how long the selectors wait for the two to recover before revealing the World Cup replacements, as Varma has already been ruled out of the first three Twenty20 matches of the forthcoming series.

Sundar's injury was confirmed by the BCCI in a statement following the first ODI. "While bowling during Sunday's first ODI against New Zealand at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara, Washington Sundar complained of an acute onset discomfort in his left lower rib area.The BCCI Medical Team will seek expert opinion after he undergoes additional scans, according to the statement. He was replaced in the ODI squad by Ayush Badoni.

Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ishan Kishan (WK), Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), and Tilak Varma (only for the fourth and fifth T20I)