Rana answers Gambhir’s call, Washington injured; Jamieson in awe of Kohli

India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s growing preference for multi-skilled cricketers is beginning to shape the team’s ODI plans, with fast bowler Harshit Rana being encouraged to develop his batting.

Rana underlined his all-round potential in India’s four-wicket win in the opening ODI at Vadodara on Sunday. The right-arm pacer struck early with the ball to disrupt New Zealand’s top order and later played a crucial hand with the bat, scoring 29 off 23 balls during the chase. Promoted ahead of the injured Washington Sundar, Rana showed composure under pressure.

“The team management wants to groom me as an all-rounder, and it’s my responsibility to keep working on it,” Rana said. He credited senior batter KL Rahul for boosting his confidence at the crease. “He told me to back myself. Once I did that, the runs came,” Rana added.

Gambhir’s emphasis on depth and flexibility has seen India increasingly field multiple all-rounders across formats. With Hardik Pandya unavailable for the ODI series, both Ravindra Jadeja and Washington featured in the first match. In recent outings, India have regularly played more than one all-rounder, including during the T20I series against South Africa and the recent Test series where Jadeja, Washington, Axar Patel and Nitish Kumar Reddy all featured.

However, India suffered a setback as Washington Sundar was ruled out of the remainder of the ODI series after sustaining a rib injury in Vadodara. The 26-year-old walked off during New Zealand’s innings after bowling five overs and did not return to the field. Despite discomfort, he later batted at No. 8 in India’s win.

“Washington has been ruled out due to discomfort in his left lower rib area,” a BCCI official confirmed.

The Men’s Selection Committee has named Ayush Badoni as his replacement. Badoni will join the squad in Rajkot, the venue for the second ODI on Wednesday, and will miss Delhi’s Vijay Hazare Trophy quarterfinal as a result.

The 26-year-old rose to prominence with his performances for Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League where he played under the mentorship of current India head coach Gautam Gambhir.

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.

Primarily a top-order batter who bowls off-spin, Badoni has been working to strengthen his case as an all-rounder. Delhi head coach Sarandeep Singh said Badoni has significantly improved his bowling over the past year, regularly putting in extra practice and adding variations such as the carrom ball and arm ball.

Washington becomes the third Indian player sidelined by injury in the ongoing series, following Rishabh Pant and Tilak Varma.

Jamieson, who has shared the dressing room with Kohli at Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL, said it's tough to determine if the Indian batter has been at his best right now. New Zealand all-rounder also said that Virat Kohli operates at a level where bowlers cannot truly contain him, no matter the plans. He said Kohli controls the tempo of an innings and plays the game differently from most cricketers. Jamieson added that facing Kohli demands absolute best from bowlers and admitted he enjoys watching the Indian star bat, calling great players ones who always find a way.