India Faces All-Rounder Crisis As Nitish Kumar Reddy Joins Hardik Pandya On Injury List

India’s preparations for the upcoming T20I series against Ireland and England have suffered a major setback after fast-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled out with a quadriceps injury, further weakening an already depleted all-rounder department. Reddy’s absence comes after Hardik Pandya was also ruled out of both series due to a quadriceps niggle. Pandya has not played competitive cricket since the conclusion of the Indian Premier League and remains unfit to bowl.

Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of India’s tours of Ireland and England due to a left quadriceps (thigh) injury. The injury became worse during the third ODI against Afghanistan in Chennai last week. He will spend at least a month at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru for rehabilitation. The goal is to help him recover in time for India’s two-Test tour of Sri Lanka in August, although the schedule for that series has not yet been announced.

The all-rounder first suffered the injury while bowling in the first ODI against Afghanistan in Dharamsala. As a result, he was rested for the second match in Lucknow. He returned for the third ODI in Chennai, where he bowled six overs and conceded 42 runs without taking a wicket. After the match, he reportedly felt discomfort in his injured thigh, leading to further medical assessment.

India’s updated squad for the Ireland T20Is currently includes Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and Shivam Dube as the primary all-round options, though none offer the same pace-bowling utility as Pandya or Reddy. Selectors may now consider additional reinforcements to restore balance before the England leg of the tour. The injury setbacks also underscore India’s growing dependence on multi-dimensional players in T20 cricket, particularly those capable of contributing in both the powerplay and the death overs.

India will play two T20I matches against Ireland on June 26 and 28 before travelling to England for a five-match T20I series starting on July 1. The England tour will also include three ODI matches. The T20I series in Ireland will be India’s first since winning the T20 World Cup earlier this year. The team will be led by new T20I captain Shreyas Iyer, who is set to begin his tenure as skipper in the shortest format.

Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma (vc), Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, Prince Yadav.

Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (Vice-Captain), KL Rahul (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar.