Fast-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy will miss the first three T20 internationals of the India–Australia series after fresh neck spasms stalled his comeback. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said the spasms have “impacted his recovery and mobility”, adding that the medical team will reassess him ahead of the fourth match in Adelaide.
Reddy, 22, had already been nursing a left-quad strain picked up during the second ODI in Sydney on 23 October. He sat out the next ODI as India trimmed the series deficit to 2–1, and now faces a further spell on the sidelines.
Shivam Dube, the only other seam-bowling all-rounder in the squad, has been drafted straight into the XI for tonight’s opener in Canberra. “I’m feeling good and the back has loosened up,” Dube said before training on Tuesday. “The role is clear: bowl hard lengths, swing for one over up front, and bat with freedom later on.”
India are already without Hardik Pandya, who continues his own rehabilitation from a separate quad problem. Captain Rohit Sharma admitted the dual absences have forced a rethink. “You lose Hardik and now Nitish – that obviously unsettles the balance,” Sharma noted. “Shivam gives us that extra seam option, and we’ll lean on the spinners the way we did in the Asia Cup.”
Those spinners – Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel – all retain their places, mirroring the slow-bowling trio that helped clinch the Asia Cup title in September. The surfaces in Canberra and Hobart are expected to offer more pace than Colombo did, yet India trust the variety of wrist-spin, finger-spin and the left-arm angle.
Reddy’s injury run has been frustrating. A knee issue kept him out of the last two Tests in England in July, and he has managed only 15 international appearances since debuting at Perth in November 2024. Team physio Nitin Patel sounded a cautious note: “He’s young, these things happen. The aim is long-term fitness, not rushing him for one match.”
India will review Reddy’s progress after the third T20I in Hobart on Sunday.
