India vs New Zealand: Big blow to India as THIS star player ruled out of ODI series due to injury

In a major blow to Team India ahead of ODI series against New Zealand, star India batter Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the series due to a back injury. Madhya Pradesh and RCB batter Rajat Patidar has been named as Iyer’s replaced in India squad.

It is learned that Iyer complained of a stiff back after the third ODI of the recently concluded series against Sri Lanka. Since Iyer is named in the Test squad for the series against Australia, he was asked by medical staff of BCCI to visit National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. The Test series against Australia is scheduled to begin in February. Sources said that Iyer would join Team India in Nagpur ahead of the first Test against Australia on February 9.

“Team India batter Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the upcoming 3-match ODI series against New Zealand due to a back injury. He will be heading to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for further assessment and management. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Rajat Patidar as a replacement for Shreyas Iyer,” BCCI said in the official release.

Iyer had performed well batting in the middle-order against Sri Lanka as he scored 28, 28 and 38 batting at No. 4 position. Iyer is second highest run-scorer in ODIs for India since 2022. He has scored 818 runs at an average of 51.12 and strike rate of 92.95.

On the other hand, Iyer’s replacement Patidar, is yet to make his international debut. The 29-year-old RCB batter was part of the ODI squad which toured Bangladesh in December 2022 but he did not get a chance to don the Indian jersey. Patidar has 1648 runs in 51 List A games at an average of 34.33 and strike rate of 97.45.

The first ODI against New Zealand is on January 18 in Hyderabad, while the second ODI will be played in Raipur on January 21. The third and final ODI of the series is at Indore on January 24.

India's updated ODI squad against New Zealand

Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KS Bharat (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Rajat Patidar, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik.