IND vsNZ 2026: India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak breaks silence on Ayush Badoni’s ODI call-up

Uncapped Ayush Badoni, a Delhi all-rounder, was recently called up by India after Washington Sundar was ruled out of the ongoing New Zealand one-day international series due to a rib injury acquired in Vadodara. While Badoni’s participation drew a lot of attention, India’s batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak, has finally explained why.

Notably, Sundar complained extreme soreness in his left lower rib area while bowling in the first ODI at the BCA Stadium. Although he returned to bat at No. 8, a further medical examination caused the BCCI to rule him out of the remaining two matches. With India already coping with injuries to Rishabh Pant and Tilak Varma, team management was compelled to reconsider their lineup, particularly the necessity for enough bowling depth in 50-over cricket.

The selectors named Badoni as Sundar’s replacement, handing the 26-year-old his maiden international call-up. His selection triggered widespread criticism towards the selection panel and head coach, Gautam Gambhir. It is worth noting that his recent Vijay Hazare Trophy returns with the bat have been decent. However, Kotak made it clear that team balance rather than batting numbers guided the decision.

Speaking ahead of the second ODI, Kotak said that no team can afford to play an ODI with only five bowling options. He pointed out that had Sundar been unavailable earlier in the match, India would have had no options to complete the overs. According to Kotak, Badoni’s ability to bowl four to five overs made him a practical, like-for-like replacement for Sundar, even if their primary skills differ.

“He has been playing, he has been performing, he has played some India A one-day matches and he has performed. Of course, it is the selectors who pick the team, but for any common man, when Washington is out, you cannot normally go with only five bowlers. For example, in the last game, if we had only five bowlers and Washington got injured in the fourth or fifth over, then who would have bowled those overs? So every team would like to have a sixth bowling option. Sometimes, if it is an all-rounder like Washington, then it’s an equally good bowler; sometimes it might be more of a batter who can bowl,” he said as quoted by NDTV.