Washington Sundar suffered an injury during the India vs New Zealand series
His availability for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 is yet to be confirmed
Team India management awaits clearance from CoE
Indian all-rounder Washington Sundar, who is part of the 15-member squad of Team India for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, is yet to get his fitness clearance from the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE). The National Selection Committee is ready to wait for his availability and is unlikely to seek any replacements anytime soon.
According to a report from Cricbuzz, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and co are not in a rush to replace Washington Sundar despite only two days remaining for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 to commence. Sundar is strongly in the plans of the team management for the upcoming T20 mega event and they are ready to wait for his recovery.
The report has also suggested the final decision on Sundar will depend on the advice of the trainers and physios of CoE. It also suggested that Sundar will need some more time to get back to fitness. It will be matter to see how long the team management waits for him to be available for selection.
Washington Sundar suffered a side-strain during the first ODI against New Zealand in January. After getting ruled out of the series, he enrolled himself for the rehab process at the COE. While his recovery continues, BCCI is yet to provide an update on how it has progressed.
When Sundar got injured, BCCI released a statement in which they said, "Washington Sundar underwent scans after reporting an acute onset discomfort in his lower rib area while bowling during the first ODI against New Zealand at the BCA Stadium, Vadodara, on 11 January.
"This was followed by an in-person consultation with an expert. He has been diagnosed with a side strain and has been advised rest for a few days, following which he will report to the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) for further management of his injury."
India played South Africa in the warm-up encounter of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Sundar was not part of the squad.
ICC T20 World Cup 2026: India Squad
Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav
