Mumbai: India’s T20 plans were heavily impacted after fast bowling all-rounder Nitish Reddy was ruled out of the entire T20 leg of the UK tour involving two matches against Ireland and five matches against England.
“Nitish reported left quadriceps discomfort after the third ODI against Afghanistan on June 20. Following a subsequent medical assessment, the BCCI Medical Team has recommended a period of rehabilitation, ruling him out of both T20I series,” a BCCI statement said.
Reddy’s absence leaves India without a pace bowling all-rounder, as Hardik Pandya was earlier ruled out. Pandya is undergoing rehab for his back and quadricep injury. The selectors named Mumbai’s Suryansh Shedge as Reddy’s replacement. Shedge, though, like Shivam Dube who is also in the squad, is a batting all-rounder.
Reddy was developing as an all-rounder and seen as a cover for Hardik, but his frequent injuries are a worrying sign. Over the last two years, Reddy’s body has been battered with injuries, including hernia, side strain, knee, neck spasm and now quadriceps.
In recent months, Reddy had been working with UK-based fast bowling coach Steffan Jones. Under the changed training module, Reddy was advised to bowl “more often but with less volume”. Reddy and Jones were slated to link up in the UK, before the former’s progress suffered a setback.
Reddy’s recovery will be closely monitored. At this stage, he is unlikely to be rushed and could also end up missing the three ODIs in England. This is where the absence of a pace bowling all-rounder could hurt India’s cause the most and hamper team balance.
In the long run, they would hope to get a few overs out of Shedge and Dube or even wait for Harshit Rana to further enhance his batting skills.
Shedge earned his call-up after some good performances for India A in the recently concluded tri-series in Sri Lanka. Batting in the middle order, the 23-year-old scored 147 runs in five matches and also chipped in with the ball, bowling 23 overs across the tournament.