Washington Sundar ruled out injured after bowling just five overs in the first ODI, forcing India to look for a replacement.
Team balance was the key reason, as India didn’t want to play with only five bowling options in ODIs.
Ayush Badoni offers a sixth bowling option, similar to Sundar, which gives captains flexibility if a bowler gets injured mid-match.
Selectors valued Badoni’s all-round ability, as he can contribute with both bat and ball when required.
Badoni’s consistent performances for India A worked in his favour, according to batting coach Sitanshu Kotak.
Axar Patel, Rinku Singh and Riyan Parag were skipped because the team management preferred a like-for-like option to Sundar rather than a pure batter.