India vs New Zealand 3rd ODI: Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar offer prayers at Mahakaleshwar Temple for Rishabh Pant

Team India will take on New Zealand in the third and final ODI at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Tuesday (January 24). Ahead of the clash, the Indian cricket team members as well as umpires and officials visited the renowned Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain on Monday (January 23) morning and attended the ‘Bhasma Aarti’.

Among those who took part in the morning ‘aarti’ and offered ‘jal’ (water) to the deity were Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Suryakumar Yadav, temple priest Ashish Guru told news agency PTI.

Ujjain Lok Sabha MP Anil Firozia felicitated them during the visit, he added. “Later the team, comprising 25 persons, visited the residence of Mahanirvani Akhada's Mahant Shri Vineet Giriji Maharaj to seek blessings,” Guru said.

Suryakumar said that they prayed to Mahakal for the speedy recovery of their teammate Rishabh Pant. The wicketkeeper-batsman was involved in a car crash on December 30 and suffered a number of serious injuries, however, he is making good progress with his recovery.

“We prayed for the speedy recovery of Rishabh Pant. His comeback is very important to us. We have already won the series against New Zealand, looking forward to the final match against them,” Suryakumar Yadav told ANI.

Madhya Pradesh | Indian cricketers Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, and Washington Sundar visited Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain and performed Baba Mahakal's Bhasma Aarti. pic.twitter.com/nnyFRLMbfa — ANI (@ANI) January 23, 2023

The players and the staff also participated in the ‘Bhasma Aarti’ of Lord Shiva that was performed in the early morning hours at the temple. The players wore traditional attire – dhoti and angavastram – while posing with the staff of the Indian cricket team.

Team India will play the third and final match of the ODI series against New Zealand on Tuesday in Indore at the Holkar Stadium. India secured a comprehensive eight-wicket win against New Zealand in the second ODI to secure their seventh consecutive ODI series at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur on Saturday.

(with agency inputs)