Nitish Kumar Reddy's trip to the UK is all set to come to a premature end as he has been ruled out of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England after suffering a knee injury in Manchester. Sources privy to developments confirmed to Hindustan Times that the young all-rounder suffered the injury while training in the gym on Sunday. He then underwent scans, which revealed significant ligament damage.
"Yes, Nitish Kumar Reddy has suffered an injury setback. At this stage, it really looks unlikely that he would be available for the last two Tests in Manchester and Oval," the source said.
Nitish Kumar Reddy also wasn't a part of the Indian contingent that interacted with Manchester United players and staff on Sunday.
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This development now gives a major setback to the visitors' preparation, who are currently trailing 1-2 in the five-match series; the side is already concerned about Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep's injury scare. Both pacers are all but set to miss the Manchester Test, beginning July 23.
The team management has already called Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj as backup, and he will join the squad later today.
{{/usCountry}}The team management has already called Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj as backup, and he will join the squad later today.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking of Nitish Kumar Reddy, he did not start the series for India in Headingley as Shardul Thakur was preferred ahead of him. However, the management brought him in for the next Test in Edgbaston, which India won by 336 runs.
Reddy wasn't particularly impactful in the second Test, scoring only 2 runs and failing to take a wicket in six overs. In the Lord's Test, however, the all-rounder stepped up with the ball as he dismissed England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley in the very same over in the first innings.
He also dismissed Crawley in the second innings. With the bat in hand, he played gritty knocks in both innings. However, he lost his wicket at a crucial juncture on both occasions, with India losing the contest by 22 runs.
Will Shardul Thakur replace Nitish Reddy?
India preferred to have one fast-bowling all-rounder in all three Tests of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. With Nitish Kumar Reddy ruled out of the series, Shardul has a realistic chance of making it to the playing XI.
Shardul was underutilised with the ball in hand in the first Test, bowling less than 20 overs in the entire Test. However, he scalped two wickets in the second innings, but his effort wasn't enough as England chased down more than 370 runs.
With the bat, he had underwhelming returns, which was a key reason behind Reddy replacing him in the playing XI.