Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes Riyan Parag would have been a like-for-like replacement for Washington Sundar amid the ongoing ODI series against New Zealand. Sundar suffered a side strain injury after bowling five overs in the first innings in the series opener on Sunday.

Subsequently, Ayush Badoni was named as the replacement for the all-rounder. Meanwhile, Riyan Parag has scored 1947 runs in 55 List A matches at an average of 41.42, and he has also scalped 54 wickets for Assam. Parag made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in 2024 but scored only 15 runs.

Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube Channel, “I would congratulate Ayush Badoni for getting a spot. He has done well for India A but Riyan Parag would have been a like-for-like replacement player. He is a proper batter and bowling is secondary for him. Parag drives the game forward but his shoulder injury means he is not available.”

On the other hand, Tilak Varma has been ruled out of the first three T20Is against New Zealand after recently undergoing a surgery and Pathan wants Shreyas Iyer to be named as the replacement.

“It will be interesting to see how Team India handle these injury concerns. The upcoming series against New Zealand will make us realise how important are these two players. New Zealand is not that strong a side. They will surely pose a challenge but the challenge India will face due to their injuries will be clear to see. I feel India should draft in Shreyas Iyer for Tilak Varma. Iyer also plays at the same spot and plays spin exceptionally well. If Suryakumar Yadav is struggling, an experienced batter is a must. Shreyas is experienced and a leader, so need to look elsewhere. There are other options like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad but these are openers. Shreyas is a bona fide middle-order batter,” Pathan added.

Iyer scored 604 runs in 17 IPL 2025 matches at a strike rate of over 175.