Rishabh Pant Ruled Out Of New Zealand ODI Series. BCCI Reveals Worrying Reason

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Sunday that wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant suffered a side strain (Oblique Muscle Tear) and was ruled out of the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand. Pant looked in a lot of pain after he was hit in the ribcage by a delivery during the practice session and was immediately taken for MRI scans. "Wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant felt a sudden onset 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," said the BCCI.

"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 release added.

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).

Pant entered the ODI series after captaining Delhi in the 2025/26 Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) league stage. He scored two half-centuries--against Services and Railways--helping Delhi reach the knockout stage.

The first India vs New Zealand ODI is scheduled to take place at the BCA Stadium, Kotambi, Vadodara, followed by the second ODI in Rajkot, with the series set to culminate with the third ODI in Indore.

Notably, the ODI series will also see the return of star India suo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, with both being exclusively ODI players.

Following the ODIs, India and New Zealand will face off against each other in five T20Is, preparing for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026, set to be held in India and Sri Lanka.

(With ANI inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Rishabh Pant Dhruv Jurel India Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team India vs New Zealand 2026 Cricket