Dhruv Jurel Named Pant's Replacement For ODI Series Against NZ

(MENAFN- IANS) Mumbai, Jan 11 (IANS) Dhruv Jurel has been named as the injury replacement for Rishabh Pant, who has been ruled out of the three-match ODI series against New Zealand due to due to a right side strain injury, the BCCI said on Sunday.

Rishabh Pant felt a sudden onset of 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.

The BCCI said that Pant was immediately taken for scans, and it was revealed that the wicketkeeper batter was diagnosed with a side strain (Oblique Muscle Tear) which ruled him out of the series.

"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," BCCI said in a statement.

As a result, "the Men's Selection Committee has named Dhruv Jurel as Pant's replacement, and Jurel has linked up with the squad," it added.

Jurel, who is captaining Uttar Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, is the state's top scorer with 558 runs in seven matches at an average of over 90. He has scored two hundreds as well as four half-centuries across seven innings in VHT 2025-26.

Pant is now expected to rest for several days before reporting to the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru for further assessment and rehabilitation.

He had come into the ODI series on the back of leading Delhi in the 2025/26 Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) league stage in Bengaluru. Pant scored two half-centuries against Services and Railways respectively, as Delhi entered the knockouts.

This is the second time Pant has been laid low by injuries after fracturing his right foot in the fourth Test against England at Manchester, and returned to action through the two-match Test series against South Africa at home in November last year.

India's ODI series against New Zealand will begin at the Baroda Cricket Association Stadium (BCA) in Kotambi, Vadodara, with the venue set to host its first men's international game.

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).

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