India pace bowler Prasidh Krishna has been ruled out of the five-match One-Day International series against New Zealand beginning November 4, with the BCCI saying on Friday that he will need more time to recover from a hamstring injury. Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj has been added to the India A squad for the second four-day game against New Zealand A, which starts in Christchurch on Saturday.
Prasidh sustained the injury during the home one-day series against the West Indies, and his selection for the New Zealand 50-over assignment had been conditional on receiving fitness clearance. Reports differ on one detail. One describes it as a left hamstring injury sustained during the Guwahati match, while the others do not specify which leg was affected.
The BCCI said in a release that the right-arm pacer, who is still recovering, requires additional time to build up the workload needed to be match-ready. He will instead join the India A squad for the third and final four-day game against New Zealand A, which one report says begins on November 7 and another dates to November 6. His participation will be subject to clearing the Return to Play assessment. The board said the stint would give him match practice and help him prepare for the Test series.
Nitish Kumar Reddy's workload is also being managed. The pace-bowling all-rounder, who was named in the original squad for the entire ODI series, will now feature only in the opener on November 4 before joining India A for the third four-day game in Lincoln. The board said the move is aimed at giving him match practice before the two-Test series against New Zealand, which starts on November 19.
Siraj, who is also part of the ODI squad, will link up with India A at Hagley Oval. The series opens at Eden Park in Auckland on November 4, with Wellington's Basin Reserve hosting the second game on November 7. Hamilton's Seddon Park will stage the third match on November 10, and the tour will conclude with two matches in Mount Maunganui on November 13 and 15.
Shubman Gill will captain India in the first three ODIs, with Shreyas Iyer taking over for the fourth and fifth matches. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli feature in both squads, while Nitish is listed only for the opening game. The India A squad for the second four-day match is led by wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel and includes Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal and Washington Sundar.
The pace options across the two ODI squads include Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar, Anshul Kamboj and Auqib Nabi. Prasidh, who has not been named in either list, will be assessed for red-ball duty while the white-ball leg gets underway.