Injured Rishabh Pant ruled out of ODI series against New Zealand

On Saturday, January 10, Indian backup keeper Rishabh Pant was ruled out of the three-match ODI series against New Zealand after being injured in the optional practice session. Notably, the first ODI is scheduled to start on Sunday, January 11, at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara.

While Pant is the backup keeper for KL Rahul in the ODI squad, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee announced Dhruv Jurel as a replacement for Pant for the three-match ODI series against the Black Caps.

Moving into the details of the injury, the BCCI statement revealed that Pant got injured while batting in the optional practice session. 

“Wicket-keeper Rishabh 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,” the BCCI statement read.

“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. The Men’s Selection Committee has named Dhruv Jurel as Pant’s replacement, and Jurel has linked up with the squad,” the statement added.

For the unversed, it was an optional practice session for the Indian team on Saturday, which was attended by Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj and Shreyas Iyer, and Pant himself. 

After the first ODI in Vadodara, both sides will head to Rajkot for the second ODI, scheduled on Wednesday, January 14. The third and final ODI is scheduled to start on Sunday, January 18, in Indore.

India’s ODI squad for New Zealand series: 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).

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