Andhra-based batting all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was included in India’s T20I squad for the upcoming three-match series against Afghanistan in New Delhi, has cleared his fitness test and is now all set to feature in the shortest format assignment.
Reddy, who last played a competitive cricket match in June 2026 against Afghanistan during the three-match ODI series in India, was picked for the T20I series, but his participation was subject to fitness along with three others — Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah and Harshit Rana.
According to a report in the Times of India on Wednesday, Nitish has received the green signal from the BCCI’s medical team and will join the India squad in Delhi on Thursday for the Afghanistan series.
As per the available
information, Reddy passed the fitness test last week, following which he was picked for the Afghanistan series. He underwent a final match simulation at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru on Wednesday and passed it. It has been reported that he has ticked all the boxes in bowling as well and is fit to bowl long spells.
Reddy’s fitness is a big boost for India as, apart from the Afghanistan series, he is part of the Asian Games 2026 squad, which will also play a one-off T20I against Japan on September 22.
Nitish, who has represented India in all three formats since making his international debut in October 2024, had missed the white-ball series in Ireland, England and Zimbabwe, as well as the two-match Test series in Sri Lanka, due to an injury suffered in the first ODI against Afghanistan in Dharamsala. He was rested for the second ODI but was picked again for the third match in Chennai, where he experienced discomfort once again.
Nitish, who has played four T20Is for India in the last two years, will challenge Shivam Dube for a place in the playing XI against Afghanistan in the absence of Hardik Pandya.
India’s squad for T20I series against Afghanistan: Shreyas Iyer (C), Sanju Samson (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Jasprit Bumrah.
