Washington Sundar is racing against time to attain peak fitness before T20 World Cup 2026. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder suffered a rib injury during the first ODI against New Zealand and was then ruled out of the entire ODI series as well as the T20Is. Sundar is undergoing rehabilitation but his World Cup chances look bleak for now.
According to sources, Riyan Parag is expected to be named as Sundar's replacement, should the latter not recover in time for the T20 World Cup. It must be noted that Parag himself is just coming off a shoulder injury and has been undergoing recovery at a steady rate. Parag has reportedly been told to report in Mumbai on February 2.
Currently, Ravi Bishnoi is Sundar's replacement in the ongoing India-New Zealand T20Is but clearly, the selectors want a like-for-like replacement in the World Cup squad. With Parag, they actually have an upgrade in the batting department but in bowling, the Assam batting all-rounder is arguably below Sundar's credentials.
India are slated to play South Africa in the warm-up game on February 4 at the DY Patil Stadium but there isn't a confirmation on this yet. The match would surely happen but whether the opponent will be South Africa or an intra-squad game between India and India A remains to be seen.
The other injury concern for India is Tilak Varma but the Hyderabad batter is recovering smoothly and should be available for a major chunk of the T20 World Cup, if not the entire tournament.