India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant required treatment after he was hit hard by a ball during a net session ahead of the first ODI against New Zealand that will be held on January 11. He was hit just above his waist and looked to be in a lot of pain as he was attended by the team's support staff. He soon walked off the field and didn't return to bat until the team's optional practice continued. It remains to be seen if he will participate in the first ODI of the series against the Black Caps.
Pant was seen batting alongside Ravindra Jadeja in the nets while Shreyas Iyer batted alongside KL Rahul. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma was seen giving batting tips to Mohammed Siraj after the latter missed the ball while attempting to play a shot. Siraj also participated in a batting session in the nets.
Pant's performance in Vijay Hazare Trophy
Pant, who has been picked in India's squad for the New Zealand ODI series, was recently in action for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He featured in all of Delhi's league stage games of the domestic tournament, scoring a total of 212 runs in six innings. He recorded two fifty-plus scores in the tournament as well. Delhi have made it to the knockout stages of the tournament after topping Elite Group D with 24 points.
Series to kick-off in Vadodara
Meanwhile, India's first ODI against New Zealand is set to be played in Vadodara. The action will move to the Niranjan Shah stadium in Rajkot for the second ODI that will be held on January 14 and the series finale will be played in Indore on January 18. The two teams will then be locking horns in a five-match T20I series that will commence from January 21.
India's squad for New Zealand ODI series: Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja