IND vs NZ 2026: ‘It really was a surprise’ – Ayush Badoni’s call-up leaves former cricketers blank

“I didn’t understand it at all. I absolutely couldn’t make sense of it. It was completely out of left field. I even went and checked his scores in the recent past, in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and this one as well. I think he is a high-potential player, but I don’t know if he is India-ready yet,” shared Uthappa in a video on his YouTube channel.

In the same video, Irfan underscored that it was not as if Badoni had lit up the domestic cricket scene like a few other players.

Like Uthappa, the former India all-rounder also expressed that Ayush Badoni sudden call-up came up as a surprise.

“I was a bit surprised, honestly. I was a bit surprised. Guys like Ayush Badoni have not done that well, right? I mean, he hasn’t exactly set domestic cricket on fire. It hasn’t really happened like that. He had three decent scores against South Africa A and Australia A, and then in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he picked up four wickets in three games. They probably thought that he could bowl a bit and bat down the order. But yes, it was a surprise. It really was a surprise,” Irfan noted.

Interestingly, Badoni did not feature in either of the second or third matches. Nitish Kumar Reddy was brought into the XI for the clash in Rajkot, which India eventually lost by seven wickets. The third ODI is being played today (January 18).