Why Nitish Reddy fits India’s Washington Sundar-shaped gap better despite Ayush Badoni buzz

Delhi all-rounder Ayush Badoni has to wait for his India debut as the Shubman Gill-led side did not draft him straightaway into the XI in the second ODI of a three-match series against New Zealand in Rajkot on Wednesday, January 14. Ayush was called in as a replacement to Washington Sundar, who was ruled out of the series after suffering an injury in the first ODI against the Black Caps in Vadodara on Sunday.

At the toss, captain Shubman Gill confirmed that medium-pace bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy would replace Washington Sundar and it's the only change for the Indian team.

New Zealand won the toss and opted to field, trying to imitate India's tactic of chasing, which proved successful in the series opener in Vadodara. However, Gill said India would have opted to bat if they had won the toss, saying he was happy with New Zealand's decision. Gill said that there wasn't much dew on the outfield during their training session on Tuesday evening and the conditions would give their bowlers enough room to defend a total.