BCCI announces Harsh Dubey as Washington Sundar's replacement for India vs England 3rd ODI

India have suffered a massive blow right ahead of the third ODI against England as their star all-rounder Washington Sundar has been ruled out of the series decider due to injury, which is slated to be played on July 19 at Lord's. Meanwhile, Vidarbha's Harsh Dubey has been announced as Sundar's replacement for the third ODI.

Harsh Dubey replaces Washington Sundar for 3rd ODI vs ENG

Notably, Sundar picked up a right hamstring injury during India's batting in the second ODI against England. Sundar will undergo scans and seek a specialist opinion for further management of his injury.

“He will undergo scans and seek a specialist opinion for further management of his injury,” BCCI's official statement read.

India's updated squad for the third ODI vs England:

Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (Vice-Captain), KL Rahul (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar, Prince Yadav, Harsh Dubey

Washington Sundar made a significant impact in the ODI series opener in Birmingham, where his unbeaten half-century guided India to a comfortable successful run chase. His fortunes shifted in the subsequent fixture, however, as the all-rounder struggled to find his rhythm, allowing England to bounce back and level the three-match series.

This performance comes amid a distinct tactical shift from the current team management, which has heavily favored packing the lineup with multi-skilled all-rounders. While this strategy aims to provide greater batting depth and bowling options, it has come at a cost for specialist bowlers, most notably leaving premier spinner Kuldeep Yadav relegated to the bench.

Sundar’s recent setback adds him to a rapidly growing injury list that has plagued India throughout this limited-overs tour of England. The visitors' squad depth had already been tested earlier in the tour during the T20I leg, which saw both Harshit Rana and Varun Chakravarthy sidelined with fitness issues. Rana’s trouble began during the third T20I at Trent Bridge, where he experienced sharp discomfort in his right hamstring. Subsequent scans confirmed a Grade 1 tear, completely ruling the young speedster out of the ODI portion of the tour and forcing him to fly back home to the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence to begin his rehabilitation.

Chakravarthy’s injury, sustained in that very same Trent Bridge fixture, proved to be even more severe. An MRI scan diagnosed the mystery spinner with a Grade 2 tear in his left hamstring, an injury significant enough to not only end his English tour but also rule him out of India's upcoming T20I assignment against Zimbabwe. In his absence, selector's turned to Ravi Bishnoi as a replacement.

Faced with these mounting casualties, the team management has handed a golden opportunity to Harsh Dubey. The left-arm spinning all-rounder earned his senior call-up on the back of an eye-catching performance against Afghanistan in Dharamsala, where he tore through the opposition with figures of 3 for 47. His impactful spell helped dismiss Afghanistan for a modest 194, setting the stage for India to cruise to a dominant seven-wicket win.