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Prasidh Krishna ruled out of New Zealand ODIs with hamstring strain; Auqib Nabi set to come in, reports say
Fast bowler Prasidh Krishna has been ruled out of India's five-match ODI series in New Zealand, which starts on 4 November in Auckland, with a left hamstring strain suffered against the West Indies. Auqib Nabi is reported to replace him. The BCCI has not officially confirmed the change.
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Fast bowler Prasidh Krishna has been ruled out of India's five-match one-day international series against New Zealand with a left hamstring injury, according to reports on Wednesday, 28 October. Auqib Nabi, a pace bowler from Jammu and Kashmir, is reported to be set to take his place. The Board of Control for Cricket in India has not announced the change officially, and the first report came from a post on social media, which was then carried by news agencies quoting a board source.
The injury
Prasidh hurt himself in the second ODI against the West Indies in Guwahati. Reports say it is a hamstring strain, not a tear. He has been rehabilitating at the board's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, and he was initially expected to be out for about three weeks. He had started bowling in training and completed match simulations on 22 and 24 October.
A board source told the Press Trust of India that he has not fully recovered from the problem, and that the team management and the national selection committee believe he should be fully fit for the Tests, where he is needed more than in the ODIs. Further match simulations and a fitness test were scheduled for 1 and 2 November at the Centre of Excellence, before the first ODI. One report says he remains in the Test squad.
The replacement
Auqib Nabi is the name reported to come in. The accounts differ on how many games he will play: one says he is likely to replace Prasidh for all five games, while another says he is set to be in the squad for the first three ODIs. India's squads for the series were announced in two groups, with Shubman Gill as captain for the first three matches and Shreyas Iyer for the fourth and fifth, and Nabi was listed in the second group. A Delhi Capitals pace bowler is the description given for him in one report.
The series
The first ODI is on 4 November in Auckland, the second on 7 November in Wellington and the third on 10 November in Hamilton, all starting at 7:30 am Indian time. The reports do not give the dates of the fourth and fifth matches. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill return for the ODIs after the West Indies series. Hardik Pandya is also absent, and one report says that the team's coach, Gautam Gambhir, is spreading the all-rounder's duties across other players such as Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
| Match | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 1st ODI | 4 November | Auckland |
| 2nd ODI | 7 November | Wellington |
| 3rd ODI | 10 November | Hamilton |
| 4th and 5th ODIs | Dates not given in the reports | Not given |
New Zealand's captain for both groups of matches is Mitchell Santner. Finn Allen, Lockie Ferguson and Tim Seifert are added to the squad for the fourth and fifth matches, while Rachin Ravindra returns from a shoulder injury for the first three.
The squads were announced in two groups.
| Matches | India squad (as named) |
|---|---|
| 1st to 3rd ODI | Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicketkeeper) and others |
| 4th and 5th ODI | Shreyas Iyer (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper and vice-captain), with Auqib Nabi in this group |
India lead the five-match Twenty20 series 3-0 after a six-wicket win on 27 October, with two matches left, so the team has already won the shorter series.
One report describes Nabi as a Delhi Capitals pace bowler, and another says he is a Jammu and Kashmir pacer. The accounts of his exact role are still unclear, so the official announcement from the selectors will be the guide to who plays which matches.
His absence leaves the pace attack with one fewer option at the start of a long tour. The reports suggest that the team does not want to risk a hamstring problem becoming worse before the Tests, which is a sensible approach with muscle strains, since returning too soon can lead to a longer lay-off.
The next signals will be an official announcement from the board and the outcome of his fitness test on 1 and 2 November. Until then, the replacement should be treated as a report and not a final decision.
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