India’s star batter to miss the three-match ODI series against New Zealand due to injury

Shreyas Iyer, a team India batter, will not participate in the three-match ODI series against New Zealand that begins on Wednesday in Hyderabad (January 18). Iyer will miss all three of the ODIs against the Kiwis due to a back issue. Rajat Patidar of the Bangalore franchise in the Indian T20 League has been selected by the Indian Cricket Board to replace Iyer in the lineup.

“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,” the Indian Cricket Board stated in a statement.

KL Rahul is to miss the ODI series against New Zealand for his wedding with Bollywood actress Athiya Shetty

Iyer’s exclusion from the ODI series allows Suryakumar Yadav to rejoin the starting XI after missing the first two ODI matches in the series against Sri Lanka, which India won 3-0. The current favourites to replace Iyer and KL Rahul, who decided to skip the series in order to marry Bollywood actress Athiya Shetty, are Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, respectively.

Patidar, a Madhya Pradesh batter, has been hitting the ball well recently. He helped the Bangalore franchise win last year’s playoff match against the Lucknow franchise by scoring his first Indian T20 League century.

Patidar has a strike rate of 97.45 in 51 List A matches, with three hundreds, and eight fifties. The first ODI in the three-match series between India and the Black Caps will be played in Hyderabad, followed by the next two games at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.

India’s updated ODI squad against New Zealand:

Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KS Bharat (Wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Rajat Patidar, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik.