Ahead of the second ODI against New Zealand, Indian batting coach Sitanshu Kotak spoke on the inclusion of Delhi youngster Ayush Badoni in the team, saying that he has performed very well in the opportunities he has got for India A and also in the Indian Premier League (IPL), making him a good candidate to replace all-rounder Washington Sundar with his useful right-arm offbreak, making him a like-for-like replacement for the Tamil Nadu star.
Why the selectors include Ayush Badoni into the squad
Speaking during the press conference, Kotak said, “He is playing, he is performing, he has played a few India A ODIs and he has performed and especially, obviously the team selectors choose, but for any common man when Washington is out, you, usually no team will go with just five bowlers, like for example in the last match if we had just five bowlers and Washington got injured in the fourth, fifth over, then who would bowl that over, so every team would want to have a sixth bowling option.
Sometimes, if he’s an all-rounder like Washington, he’s an equally good bowler. Sometimes, he can be a batsman who can also bowl. If needed, someone should be able to bowl four, five, or three or four overs, whatever the need may be. He’s scored two 50s for India A and can bowl. He’s done well in the IPL and white-ball cricket, so best of luck to him.”
During South Africa A’s tour of India last year, Badoni scored a half-century of 66 in the second unofficial ODI and bowled 0/15 (four overs) and 0/43 (seven overs) in the two matches he played. Furthermore, during Australia A’s tour of India last year, he took three wickets in two matches at an average of 16.33 and scored 21 runs in a solitary innings.
As a middle-order batsman for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), he has played 56 IPL matches and 46 innings, scoring 963 runs at an average of 26.75 and a strike rate of 138.56, with six fifties and a best score of 74.
