Live Update: Sai Sudharsan’s injury scare in the Ranji Trophy leaves India in doubt about the New Zealand tour. The 24-year-old left the field with help after feeling unwell on the second day of Tamil Nadu’s opening Ranji Trophy match against Rajasthan in Jaipur.
Sai Sudharsan’s Ranji Trophy injury scare puts India’s tour of New Zealand in doubt (Photo Source: BCCI) Sai Sudharsan has been hit by another fitness problem, this time during Tamil Nadu’s 2026-27 Ranji Trophy season opener against Rajasthan in Jaipur, raising fresh doubts over his place in the India A team that is expected to tour New Zealand next month. The problem arose on matchday two when the 24-year-old felt unwell on the pitch and was unable to leave the pitch on his own. A member of the support staff assisted him to the utmost and the full nature of the injury could not be confirmed pending a medical examination.
The timing adds pressure to Sudharsan’s preparations for a three-match unofficial Test series India A against New Zealand A is scheduled to begin on October 24 in Lincoln. He was named in the squad alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant with Dhruv Jurel leading the team. How has Sudharsan’s fitness held up until 2026?
This latest episode comes amid a difficult injury year for the Tamil Nadu batsman. A rib problem during the Vijay Hazare Trophy in January sidelined him for almost a month and disrupted his momentum at a time when he was doing everything he could to secure a regular Test berth. Later, a stress fracture in his toe proved more serious and ruled him out of the Indian Test team for the Sri Lanka tour entirely.
Sarfaraz Khan was called into the team as a replacement for this series and Devdutt Padikkal made good use of the opportunity, securing third place with two centuries. Sudharsan’s rehabilitation after his toe injury took more than two months. He worked his way through India A commitments, playing in two unofficial Tests against Australia A and then taking part in the unofficial three-match ODI series in Puducherry.
He missed the third one-day match of this Australian A series to return to Tamil Nadu’s Ranji Trophy campaign and it was on that pearance that fresh concerns arose. What does the India A route look like and what are the next steps? India A’s three-match unofficial Test series against New Zealand A will be played at three venues and over three weeks.
The opening game begins on October 24th in Lincoln, the second game begins on October 31st in Christchurch and the third and final game is scheduled to begin again on November 7th in Lincoln. Sudharsan’s travel depends on the outcome of the medical examination for his recent injury. No official statement from the Board of Control for Cricket in India has been released and no replacement players have been announced at this stage.
India A team for the New Zealand series: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Smaran, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper and keeper), Washington Sundar, Auqib Nabi, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Choudhary, Sai Sudharsan, Yash Rathod and Mukesh Kumar.
