In another blow for India, all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the upcoming white-ball tour of the UK due to a quadriceps injury that he picked up during the Afghanistan ODI series, news agency PTI reported. Reddy was expected to fill in for Hardik Pandya, who has been on the sidelines due to a series of injuries.ย
“Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the Ireland series. The MRI has revealed swelling with fibre disruption in the left quadriceps. He has been asked to report to the COE for further assessment,” the medical bulletin in possession of PTI stated. The report added that Nitish will take at least four weeks to complete his rehabilitation, and the timeline could extend further. This effectively rules him out of the Ireland and England tours.ย
When did he suffer the injury?
Nitish picked up the injury ahead of the second ODI against Afghanistan and subsequently missed out on playing the Lucknow game. Captain Shubman Gill revealed that the all-rounder had “some issues with his quad” in a worrying update for the Indian team. However, he was available for the third ODI in Chennai, and assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate emphasised as much. โNitish, he probably could have played the last game as well. But he will be good to go for tomorrowโs game,” Doeschate said ahead of the third ODI. Subsequently, he returned to the Playing XI for the third game.
The SRH all-rounder was named in all three squads for the white-ball series in the UK. He was the No.1 seam bowling all-rounder for the Ireland T20Is, England T20Is and ODIs. However, his injury raises concerns for India.ย
Who can replace Nitish Kumar Reddy?
India have not named a replacementย for Nitish till now. They don’t have a like-for-like replacement in the squad. Shivam Dube and Harshit Rana are the other seam bowling all-round options. However, Dube’s primary skill is batting, while Harshit is more of a bowler. Nitish’s stocks as a fast bowler increased as he recently took his speeds from 120 kphs to the mid-130s after working withย independent fast bowling coach Steffan Jones. The BCCI can call in Suryansh Shedge as a potential option, though. The Mumbai all-rounder was recently part of the Tri-Nation Series featuring India A, Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A.ย
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