Team India all-rounder Washington Sundar has been ruled out of the third and final One Day International against England at Lord’s Cricket Ground on Sunday, July 19. The Tamil Nadu player will miss the crucial match after suffering a hamstring injury during the second match in Cardiff on Thursday.
England, led by Harry Brook, defeated India by four wickets in the second ODI at Sophia Gardens to level the three-match series 1-1. While defending the target of 234 runs, the visiting team had to struggle with only five frontline bowlers. Joe Root scored an unbeaten 99 runs in 44.1 overs to give the host team an easy victory.
Washington Sundar aggravates hamstring injury while batting
Washington Sundar’s existing hamstring injury got aggravated while taking his first run towards mid-off during India’s first innings. The medical staff reached the field and bandaged the all-rounder tightly. He had to struggle to run between the wickets before Jos Buttler caught him.
According to news agency PTI, Sundar has been dropped from the upcoming match. The selectors and team management are hopeful that he will recover before the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka next month.
Washington Sundar was out of the last ODI at Lord’s and may be out for some time. Hopefully he will be fit before the Sri Lanka Test. #Cricket
– Kushan Sarkar (@kushansarkar) July 16, 2026
Ahead of the bilateral series, all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy were ruled out of the tour of Ireland and England due to injuries. Fast bowler Harshit Rana and spinner Varun Chakraborty were injured during the T20 series against England.
With Nitish Kumar Reddy still not recovered, the visitors will face England in the Lord’s final with a very weak team and limited all-round options. Remarkably, KL Rahul could not play the second ODI due to illness.
I personally felt that Washington Sundar’s injury – Sitanshu Kotak
During the post-match press conference, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said that the sudden injury disrupted the lower-middle order. Kotak said that the team failed to build a significant partnership and provide a more challenging target for the English batting lineup.
Kotak said, “I personally felt the injury to Washington, which he got after taking his first run at mid-off and his hamstring (injured). It looks like an injury. And then, he was out on the next ball. From there, we wanted the partnership again, but unfortunately we lost Akshar Pate and Shivam Dubey.”
In the absence of Washington Sundar, Shivam Dubey bowled six overs and took one wicket for 32 runs. Dubey successfully dismissed Sam Curran during the run chase. Notably, he was out on a golden duck while batting during the first innings.
We had to bowl to our main bowlers – Shubman Gill on Washington Sundar
After the dismissal of Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, who had put on a 67-run partnership, Washington Sundar came in at number six. He could score only two runs in five balls and India collapsed for 233 runs. Washington Sundar did not take the field during the second innings.
India captain Shubman Gill said that losing a key player had forced the team management to alter their bowling strategies, forcing them to rely completely on their five main bowlers throughout the innings.
“You know, he’s an important part of our team. I think he got injured when he was batting, getting runs in the mid-off and that might have played a part in the pressure. We had to bowl to our main bowlers throughout the innings.”
“But I don’t think it would have really made a big difference because the ball was working for the fast bowlers. But when you lose a key player like that, you have to change your strategy, you have to change who bowls. So in that respect, yes, there was a bit of pace loss for us.”