IND vs NZ 2026: ‘I got the benefit of being an all-rounder’ – Ayush Badoni on receiving national call-up

India cricketer Ayush Badoni believes that his transformation to being an all-rounder rather than a specialist hitter was a crucial element in his latest national call-up. Badoni was picked as Washington Sundar’s replacement for the second and third ODIs against New Zealand.

The 26-year-old revealed that he has put more attention on bowling in the previous two years, adding that he has bowled a lot of off-spin for the Delhi side while also providing wickets.

“Earlier, I used to only bat, but since the last two years, I have been focusing a lot on my bowling. I always feel like I can take wickets, and contribute to the team with my bowling, so I got the benefit of being an all-rounder. I have bowled a lot for Delhi and got wickets, so I have benefitted from it,” shared Badoni in an interaction on BCCI.tv.

The young all-rounder shared that he could not himself let his family and friends know of his selection in the India squad. He also spoke on the overall team environment and his aim of being a constant learner while spending time with the experienced members of the team.

“I actually got the call late at night, so I could not tell them. It was then announced in the morning, and that is when they got to know. They were also very happy and proud. A lot of the senior players in the team are legends, so I try to learn from them when they bat or bowl, I think that enhances my game. There are a lot of players with whom I have fun with, I’ve known Harshit [Rana] for a while. There are Arshdeep [Singh] and Shreyas [Iyer] also, I have a lot of fun with them,” the Delhi cricketer added.