T20 World Cup 2026 will start from 7th February, which is being hosted jointly by India and Sri Lanka. All the matches of Group B will be held in Sri Lanka, while Pakistan will also play all its matches in Sri Lanka only. Before the start of the tournament, India has a practice match, which is to be held at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. There is good news about Tilak Verma, while all-rounder Washington Sundar may be out of the tournament.

The injuries of Washington Sundar and Tilak Verma are a matter of concern for Team India, but the news is that Tilak has now fully recovered. According to a report in Indian Express, Tilak will be available for the fifth T20 against New Zealand, although the management wants to keep him fully fit for the T20 World Cup.

Washington Sundar’s replacement

Washington Sundar is out of the team due to a side strain. It is being said that Washington’s recovery is slow, due to which he may be out of the T20 World Cup. Riyan Parag’s name is coming forward as Washington’s replacement. They have been asked to be ready at the Center of Excellence in Bengaluru. Let us tell you that Parag has to play 2 simulation matches on 28th and 30th January. If he passes the fitness test, he may also be asked to join the stitches.

In the ongoing T20 series against New Zealand, Ravi Bishnoi was included in place of Washington Sundar, who was also included in the playing 11 in the third T20. He took 2 wickets while bowling economically. The report quoted a BCCI source as saying that the board does not want to rush Washington’s return. Therefore, their options are being seriously considered.

When is the warm-up match?

It is reported that BCCI is preparing for a warm-up match at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. This match can be either against South Africa or against India A. With this the team will finalize its playing 11. Warm-up matches play an important role before any big tournament.

Who is Ayush Badoni: Washington Sundar is out of the ODI series against New Zealand. He was injured while bowling in the first ODI match played in Vadodara. BCCI has declared Ayush Badoni as his replacement. The second and third ODI matches will be played between India and New Zealand on 14 and 18 January, for which Badoni has now replaced Sundar in the Indian squad. Know here who Ayush Badoni is and why he has been included in Team India’s squad for the first time.

Ayush Badoni was born on December 3, 1999 in Delhi, but he is originally a resident of Uttarakhand. His family comes from Silod, a small village located in Devprayag block. Originally coming from Uttarakhand, his family later shifted to Delhi, hence Ayush’s childhood was spent in Delhi.

Mother is a school teacher, father makes films.

Ayush Badoni has been very fond of cricket since childhood and started practicing professional cricket at the age of 9. He started taking training at Sonet Cricket Academy. In fact, his first coach was his father, Vivek Badoni. Seeing the passion for cricket in his son, Vivek started teaching him the tricks of ball and bat. Vivek Badoni makes documentary films by profession and Ayush’s mother, Vibha Badoni is a school teacher by profession. Father Vivek had made the terrace of the house a net practice area for Ayush. Ayush used to practice net here only.

26-year-old Ayush Badoni plays for Delhi in domestic cricket and plays for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL. Badoni was included in their squad by Lucknow Super Giants in 2022 for Rs 20 lakh. He has been playing for this team since then and he is going to get a huge salary of Rs 4 crore in IPL 2026.

Ayush Badoni’s career till now

Apart from scoring 1,788 runs in his career of 96 T20 matches so far, Ayush Badoni has also taken 17 wickets. In his List A career of 27 matches, he has 693 runs and 18 wickets in his name. So far in first-class cricket, he has played 21 matches and scored 1681 runs and also taken 22 wickets. Ayush has scored 963 runs in his IPL career of 56 matches.

Also read:

BCCI’s reaction to ICC’s suggestion of 2 venues, know the latest updates on Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup controversy.