Nitish Kumar Reddy's international debut will have to be put on hold as he has been sidelined from India's T20I tour of Zimbabwe due to an injury. Shivam Dube will step 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 has been ruled out due to a hernia.
Reddy, a 21-year-old seam bowling allrounder, earned his first India call-up following an impressive IPL 2024 season with Sunrisers Hyderabad. He scored 303 runs with the strike rate of 142.92, and also claimed three wickets in his 13.1 overs.
In just his second innings of the season, he scored 64 off 37 balls against Punjab Kings, helping SRH to 182 and a two-run victory. Reddy also played a crucial unbeaten 76 off 42 balls against Rajasthan Royals in a group game. His three wickets included Rishabh Pant, Tristan Stubbs, and Jitesh Sharma.
Dube is currently with India squad in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. While his performance in the tournament has been average so far, with 106 runs in six matches at a strike rate of 107.07 and no wickets, he had a stellar IPL 2024 season. Batting mainly in the middle overs, he was Chennai Super Kings' spin-hitter, finishing with 396 runs in 14 games at a strike rate of 162.29. He was CSK's second highest run-scorer after Ruturaj Gaikwad.
India will face Zimbabwe in five T20Is in Harare starting on July 6. With senior players rested, Shubman Gill will lead the squad, which includes Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, and Tushar Deshpande, all of whom have received their first India call-ups.
India squad for Zimbabwe T20I series
Shubman Gill (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Riyan Parag, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Tushar Deshpande
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