Rishabh Pant Ruled Out Of ODI Series Against New Zealand, Dhruv Jurel Named Replacement
The first of the three-match series would be played at the Baroda Cricket Association Stadium in Vadodara on Sunday.
Published : January 11, 2026 at 12:02 PM IST
Hyderabad: The Board of Control in Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday announced that stumper Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the three-match series against New Zealand. The national selection committee, led by former India pacer Ajit Agarkar, has named Dhurv Jurel as Pant's replacement.
The first of the three-match series would be played at the Baroda Cricket Association Stadium in Vadodara later in the day, with the venue set to host its first men’s international game. "Wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant felt a sudden onset of discomfort in his right lateral abdominal area while batting in the nets during India’s practice session on Saturday afternoon at the BCA Stadium, Vadodara," said BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia in a media statement.
"He was taken for MRI scans immediately, and the BCCI Medical Team had a detailed discussion with an expert on his clinical and radiological findings. Pant has been diagnosed with a side strain (Oblique Muscle Tear) and is subsequently ruled out of the ODI Series," he added.
As a result, "the Men’s Selection Committee has named Dhruv Jurel as Pant’s replacement, and Jurel has linked up with the squad," the statement said. Jurel, who is captaining Uttar Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, is the state's top scorer with 558 runs in seven matches at an average of over 90. He has scored two hundreds as well as four half-centuries across seven innings in VHT 2025-26.
Pant is now expected to rest for several days before reporting to the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru for further assessment and rehabilitation. He had come into the ODI series on the back of leading Delhi in the 2025/26 Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) league stage in Bengaluru. Pant scored two half-centuries against Services and Railways respectively, as Delhi entered the knockouts.
This is the second time Pant has been laid low by injuries after fracturing his right foot in the fourth Test against England at Manchester, and returned to action through the two-match Test series against South Africa at home in November last year.
India's updated ODI squad: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (Wicket-Keeper), Shreyas Iyer (Vice Captain), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (Wicket Keeper).
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