Visakhapatnam
Nitish Kumar Reddy will have to delay his international debut as he has been sidelined from India’s T20I tour of Zimbabwe due to an injury. Shivam Dube will be stepping in to take his place in the 15-member squad.
The BCCI did not disclose the specifics of Reddy’s injury, but ESPNcricinfo has reported that he is out with a hernia.
Reddy, a young seam bowling allrounder, earned his first call-up to the Indian team following an impressive performance in IPL 2024 for Sunrisers Hyderabad. He scored 303 runs in the season at a strike rate of 142.92, and also took three wickets in 13.1 overs.
One of his standout innings was a 64 off 37 balls against Punjab Kings, helping SRH to a total of 182 and a close win. He also played a brilliant unbeaten 76 off 42 balls against Rajasthan Royals later in the tournament. His notable wickets included Rishabh Pant, Tristan Stubbs, and Jitesh Sharma.
Reddy has been part of the BCCI’s focus on young players under the NCA’s supervision over the past year.
Dube is already a part of the India squad for the T20 World Cup 2024, and despite his average performance in the tournament so far, he had a remarkable IPL 2024 season. Batting in the middle overs for CSK, he scored 396 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 162.29, making him their second-highest run-scorer after Ruturaj Gaikwad.
India will face Zimbabwe in a series of five T20Is in Harare starting on July 6. With senior players rested, Shubman Gill will lead the squad that includes debutants Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, and Tushar Deshpande.
India squad for T20I series in Zimbabwe
Ꮪhubman Gill (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande
