Rishabh Pant will miss India’s three-match one-day series against New Zealand after suffering a side strain during Saturday’s nets in Vadodara. The wicketkeeper-batter felt the pull while driving through the off-side and was sent for scans straight away.
“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 release explained. “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 injury has not disrupted India’s first-choice XI too heavily. KL Rahul was already pencilled in to keep wicket, so the vacancy is on the bench rather than in the middle. Even so, Pant’s recent returns – two half-centuries while leading Delhi to the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarter-finals – suggested he was edging back towards his best white-ball rhythm.
Dhruv Jurel has been drafted in as cover, his first call-up to an ODI squad. The Uttar Pradesh right-hander is fresh from six fifty-plus scores in his past seven List A knocks, two converted into hundreds. That purple patch followed a difficult Test tour of South Africa where scores of 14, 13, 0 and 2 left him searching for a method outside Asia. A limited-overs environment, and the relative calm of middle-order work behind heavyweights Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, may suit him better.
Series outline
• 1st ODI – Vadodara, Sunday
• 2nd ODI – Rajkot, 14 January
• 3rd ODI – Indore, 18 January
The sides then turn to a five-match T20I programme (21-31 January) that doubles as a warm-up for February’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. Neither Pant nor Jurel features in the shorter-format squad, so both now have clear recovery and preparation windows for their differing goals: Pant to return fit, Jurel to push for longer-term selection.
Why India can cope
Rahul’s dual-role consistency, coupled with depth in the top order, means India rarely carry an extra keeper in home ODIs. The balance tilts further once all-rounders Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja slot in. In simple terms, the XI would have been the same had Pant been fully fit, though his left-handedness does offer contrast the coaches appreciate.
What to watch with Jurel
If the opportunity arises, the 23-year-old’s clarity against pace – particularly front-foot drives through cover – will be monitored. New Zealand’s attack is expected to include two right-arm quicks and a left-armer, a mix that has occasionally hurried him at domestic level. A short cameo could still be enough to keep his name in national conversations, especially with a Champions Trophy cycle beginning this year.
India’s revised ODI squad
Shubman Gill (capt), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer (vice-capt), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk)
Pant will remain with team medical staff for further assessment. A conservative rehabilitation plan is expected; side strains are notoriously tricky for wicketkeepers because every dive and throw tests the obliques. India, mindful of a packed calendar, are unlikely to rush him.
In the meantime, the ODI series provides New Zealand with a chance to test middle-overs plans in Indian conditions, while India gauge bench strength a month out from another global tournament.
