Mumbai: Dhruv Jurel has been named as the injury replacement for Rishabh Pant in India’s squad for the three-match one-day international series against New Zealand, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed.
Pant has been ruled out of the series after sustaining a right-side strain during a practice session at the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) Stadium in Vadodara on Saturday. According to the BCCI, the wicketkeeper-batter experienced sudden discomfort in his right lateral abdominal region while batting in the nets.
He was immediately taken for medical evaluation, including MRI scans, following which the BCCI medical team consulted specialists to assess his condition. The scans revealed an oblique muscle tear, leading to his exclusion from the ODI series.
In an official statement, the BCCI said the Men’s Selection Committee had approved Dhruv Jurel as Pant’s replacement, and the Uttar Pradesh batter has already joined the Indian squad.
Jurel has been in impressive form in domestic cricket and is currently captaining Uttar Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025–26. He is the team’s leading run-scorer, having amassed 558 runs in seven matches at an average exceeding 90, including two centuries and four half-centuries.
Pant is expected to rest for the next few days before reporting to the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru for further assessment and rehabilitation. He had entered the ODI series after leading Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy league stage, where he scored two half-centuries against Services and Railways to help his team reach the knockout rounds.
This marks another injury setback for Pant, who had earlier fractured his right foot during the fourth Test against England at Manchester. He made his return to international cricket during the home Test series against South Africa in November last year.
India’s ODI series against New Zealand begins at the BCA Stadium in Kotambi, Vadodara, which will host its first men’s international match.
India’s updated ODI squad:
Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Shreyas Iyer (Vice-Captain), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (WK).
