Nitish Reddy Injured, Shivam Dube Replaces Him for Zimbabwe T20Is

Nitish Kumar Reddy's international debut has been put on hold due to an undisclosed injury, forcing him to withdraw from India's T20I tour of Zimbabwe. Shivam Dube has been called up as his replacement in the 15-member squad.

Reddy, a promising 21-year-old seam bowling allrounder, earned his maiden India call-up after an impressive IPL 2024 season with Sunrisers Hyderabad. He amassed 303 runs at a strike rate of 142.92 and claimed three wickets in 13.1 overs.

In his second IPL innings, Reddy played a pivotal role in SRH's two-run victory over Punjab Kings, scoring a quickfire 64 off 37 balls. He also contributed an unbeaten 76 off 42 balls against Rajasthan Royals later in the tournament. With the ball, he dismissed notable batters like Rishabh Pant, Tristan Stubbs, and Jitesh Sharma.

Reddy has been part of the BCCI's target group of young players under the NCA's supervision for the past year. His replacement, Shivam Dube, is a member of India's T20 World Cup 2024 squad. While his performance in the tournament has been modest, he had a stellar IPL 2024 season.

Dube, primarily batting in the middle overs, emerged as Chennai Super Kings' spin-hitter, scoring 396 runs in 14 games at a strike rate of 162.29. He was CSK's second-highest run-scorer behind Ruturaj Gaikwad.

India will face Zimbabwe in a five-match T20I series in Harare starting on July 6. With senior players rested, Shubman Gill will lead the squad, which includes maiden India call-ups for Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, and Tushar Deshpande.

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