India Tour of Zimbabwe: Shivam Dube Steps in For Injured Nitish Kumar Reddy in T20I Squad
New Delhi: BCCI on Wednesday announced Shivam Dube as the replacement for Nitish Kumar Reddy in India’s 15-man squad for a tour of Zimbabwe, taking place from July 6. the young all-rounder’s debut has been postponed due to injury. Led by Shubman Gill, Team India is scheduled to play Zimbabwe in five T20Is from July 6 to 16 at the Harare Sports Club.
Nitish Kumar Reddy earned a call-up up to the India squad after having an amazing IPL 2024 season with Sunrisers Hyderabad. The 21-year-old from Visakhapatnam will now be under the care of the BCCI medical team. Although the specifics of his injury remain undisclosed, the decision to replace him was made shortly after the Ajit Agarkar-led senior selection committee announced the 15-member squad.
“The Men’s Selection Committee named Shivam Dube as a replacement for the injured Nitish Reddy in India’s squad for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring Nitish Reddy’s progress,” the BCCI said in a statement.
Nitish Kumar Reddy is considered as potential fast-bowling all-rounder for the Indian team. The SRH star amassed 303 runs in 13 outings and clinched three wickets in IPL. Nitish’s temperament to play in tough situations shone through when he consistently bowled over 130 kph consistently.
Nitish won the Emerging Player Award in IPL 2024 even though SunRisers lost to the Knight Riders in the final.
India’s updated squad for Zimbabwe tour
Shubman Gill (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube.
Only Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson were picked from India’s T20 World Cup squad for the series in Zimbabwe. However, with the addition of Shivam Dube, three players have been named from the 15-man squad which is in action in the Caribbean.
Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan were all part of the reserves for the T20 World Cup.
India tour of Zimbabwe 2024: Full Schedule (All Matches in Harare)
1st T20I on July 6, Saturday
2nd T20I on July 7, Sunday
3rd T20I on July 10, Wednesday
4th T20I on July 13, Saturday
5th T20I on July 14, Sunday