Will Nitish Reddy play the T20I series opener against Australia? Suryakumar Yadav provides big update

New Delhi: Skipper Suryakumar Yadav provided a massive update of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy ahead of the T20I series opener against Australia on Wednesday. Reddy sustained a left quadriceps injury and was ruled out of the third and final ODI match in Sydney on Saturday.

After Hardik Pandya was ruled out of the ODI series after suffering an injury towards the end of the Asia Cup 2025, India's hopes relied on Reddy to fulfill the all-rounder's role for the side in the big series. The promising player made his ODI debut coming up with a fine performance in the series opener in Perth but failed to make an impact in the second match in Adelaide.

Ahead of the third and final game, his injury forced him to stay out of the third match. With the BCCI not naming a replacement for Reddy ahead of the T20I series, it is being expected that the all-rounder would be fit in time for he first game. Additionally, the Men in Blue also have another all-rounder in form of Shivam Duve up and kicking for the matches in the shortest format.

During the pre-series press conference, skipper Suryakumar said that Reddy has recovered well in time for the games ahead and has also started practicing for the series opener set to take place in Canberra. This means that Reddy would be part of the first game which would help India set he base for the five-game series.

Suryakumar said that Reddy is doing fine as he did practice a bit of batting and also fielded in the ground. He further said that he had an option of sitting out but as discussed in the meeting with the stakeholders, it was decided to bring him on to the field for some good practice.

In the build-up to the T20 World Cup 2026, the Australia T20I series would prove to be of pivotal importance for the Men in Blue.