3 players who could replace Washington Sundar if he is ruled out of T20 World Cup 2026

Washington Sundar suffered a rib injury in the first ODI between India and New Zealand.

After the ODI series against New Zealand, the focus of Indian Cricket Team is on the shortest format with the T20I series against the Black Caps underway. The campaign will be a crucial one for India, as it will be a platform to prepare of ICC T20 World Cup 2026.

India and Sri Lanka are the hosts of the ICC tournament, which will begin on February 7 and conclude with the final on March 8. 20 teams, which are divided across four groups of five teams each, are set to fight with each other for the trophy. The Men in Blue, who won the previous edition in 2024 by defeating South Africa in the final, will aim to defend their title.

The Suryakumar Yadav & Co. have already announced their squad but have faced a setback ahead of the campaign. Washington Sundar, who is part of India’s squad for T20 World Cup 2026, sustained a rib injury. in the first ODI against New Zealand recently.

Sundar was ruled out of T20I series against New Zealand, and with tournament set to begin on February 7, there are chances that he might get ruled out of the campaign. In such a scenario, India will need a key replacement for Sundar in the squad. On that note, below are three Indian players who could replace Washington Sundar for ICC T20 World Cup 2026.

3 players who could replace Washington Sundar in T20 World Cup squad

3. Riyan Parag

Riyan Parag grabs the first spot on this list. He is a like-for-like replacement for Sundar as he is also a spin all-rounder. Moreover, he also bats in the lower-order and will be a good choice to fill the latter’s vacant spot.

Smacking six sixes in IPL 2025 last year, Parag scripted the record in the tournament’s history by becoming the first batter to achieve this feat. Across nine T20Is for India, Parag has a stunning strike rate of over 150 while batting and has also picked up four scalps.

2. Shahbaz Ahmed

Although, India replaced Washington Sundar with Ravi Bishnoi in squad for New Zealand T20Is, Shahbaz Ahmed will be an ideal player who can fill Sundar’s shoes in T20 World Cup 2026. Bishnoi lacks batting skills, and Shahbaz has proved that again and again. Playing for Bengal, he showed decent form in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025, smacking 60 runs in five games and picking four wickets.

With a strike rate of over 133+, he can also lent a crucial hand in the team’s batting department. He has not played any T20I for India, but has experience of three ODI games.

1. Nitish Kumar Reddy

Although Nitish Kumar Reddy is not a like-for-like replacement for Sundar, his addition will be a useful strategy. Notably, India have enough spinners in their bowling unit for T20 World Cup with the likes of Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel.

Hence, picking a seam all-rounder like Reddy will add one more pacer in the squad. Moreover, Hardik Pandya has a history of getting injured in crucial tournaments in the past. In such a scenario, Nitish will be a good backup for him. He has only played four T20I games, and showed his might in his second game by smacking his maiden fifty against Bangladesh.

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