Uncapped Ayush Badoni was on Monday named as the replacement for the injured Washington Sundar in India's squad for the remaining two ODIs against New Zealand.
Badoni, 26, rose to prominence with his performances for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL where he played under the mentorship of current India head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Badoni, primarily a batter who bowls off-spin, has captained Delhi and was deputy to Rishabh Pant in the team's latest Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign.
While Badoni has a batting average of 57.96 in first-class cricket, his List A returns are not that impressive.
He averages 36.47 in 27 games and has done more with the ball than bat in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Delhi head coach Sarandeep Singh spoke about the work Badoni has put on his off-spin over the last year or so.
"He bowls at least 30 balls in every practice session after batting in the nets. He realises that he needs to improve his off-spin to make a strong case as an all-rounder who can fit into the Indian team," Sarandeep said.
"He has improved as a bowler considerably over the last 12 months. He is getting wickets for us regularly, he is a very smart cricketer and learns quickly.
"His off-spin turns sharply and he has a good carrom ball and arm ball as well," the former India spinner told PTI.
"If Riyan Parag was fit he would have been ideal replacement for Washington Sundar. Congratulations to Ayush Badoni for Team India call up. He had few decent hits for India A. For India A, he scored 66(66) vs South Africa A in November and 21(20) & 50(27) vs Australia A in October," said former India pacer Irfan Pathan on X.
However, many fans have questioned why Axar Patel or Ruturaj Gaikwad were not called up as Sundar's replacement.
'Seriously @BCCI, what have Ruturaj or Axar done wrong? An all-rounder replacement should be an all-rounder -- Axar should’ve been first choice. If not, then Ruturaj. Nothing against Badoni. Congrats to Ayush Badoni on his maiden India call,' said Kapil Dev Tamrakar on X.
'Players who should have replaced Sundar - Rinku Singh Anukul Roy If looking for a proper batter then obviously Ruturaj. They selected Ayush Badoni out of nowhere,' another fan posted on X.
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