All-rounder Shivam Dube has been picked as replacement for injured Nitish Reddy in the Indian T20 squad for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe, the BCCI announced on Wednesday. India will play five T20 Internationals in Zimbabwe from July 6. “The men’s selection committee named Shivam Dube as replacement for the injured Nitish Reddy in India’s squad for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe,” the BCCI said in a statement. The BCCI said its medical team is monitoring the Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder’s progress.
During the series, India and Zimbabwe will play all their matches in Harare.
Youngsters Riyan Parag, Abhishek Sharma and Nitish were on Monday rewarded for their exploits in the last IPL with maiden India call-ups for the white-ball tour of Zimbabwe under the captaincy of Shubman Gill.
Senior players competing in the ongoing T20 World Cup in the Americas, including captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested ahead of a gruelling season.
Reddy was awarded the Emerging Player title for the 2024 IPL season.
The 21-year-old Nitish scored 303 runs at an average of 33.67 and a strike rate of 142.92, playing a crucial role in propping up the SRH middle order.
The right-handed batter’s best outing with the willow came against Rajasthan Royals, where he scored a 42-ball 76, studded with eight sixes and three fours. That proved to be a match-winning knock for SRH.
Nitish also picked up three wickets with his medium pace bowling, including 2/17 against Delhi Capitals, in his second IPL campaign.
India’s updated squad: 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.
