Prasidh Krishna Ruled Out of New Zealand ODIs as Siraj Joins India A for Christchurch Four-Day Game

New Delhi: Prasidh Krishna has been ruled out of India’s five-match ODI series against New Zealand after failing to recover in time from a hamstring injury, the BCCI announced on Friday, in a squad reshuffle that also sends Mohammed Siraj to India A for the second four-day game in Christchurch. Prasidh, who picked up a left hamstring injury during an ODI against the West Indies in Guwahati, needs more time to build up the workload required to be match-ready. He will instead join the India A squad for the third and final four-day match against New Zealand A, starting November 7 in Lincoln, subject to clearing the Return to Play assessment — a route designed to give him match practice ahead of the two-Test series against New Zealand starting November 19. Siraj, meanwhile, has been added to the India A squad for the second four-day game, which begins on October 31 at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. Siraj also features in India’s updated ODI squad for the first three matches, underlining how the selectors are juggling the senior and shadow squads on the same tour. KL Rahul, who played the first four-day game in Lincoln, will not feature in Christchurch as he prepares for the ODI series, which begins at Eden Park in Auckland on November 4, with the second match in Wellington on November 7. The first four-day game in Lincoln ended in a draw, with New Zealand A holding on in the fading light despite India A pushing hard for a win. Auqib Nabi, who took six wickets in that game, will not play the second four-day game, while wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra joins the squad after serving as cover for Ishan Kishan in the second and third T20Is. Nitish Kumar Reddy will remain part of the ODI squad for the first ODI only, before linking up with India A for the third four-day game. India’s updated ODI squad for the first three matches: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy (first ODI only). For the fourth and fifth ODIs, Shreyas Iyer captains, with Tilak Varma, Auqib Nabi, Kumar Kushagra and Yash Thakur coming in. India A’s updated squad for the second four-day game: Dhruv Jurel (captain/wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Yash Rathod, R Smaran, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Shikhar Mohan, Mukesh Choudhary, Mukesh Kumar, Manav Suthar and Kumar Kushagra.