Former cricketer Aakash Chopra feels that Nitish Kumar Reddy will not be a long-term replacement for Hardik Pandya as the Indian team management did not give him a chance. Nitish has been included in the ODI and T20I squads for the tour of Australia as Hardik continues to recover from the injury he sustained during the 2025 Asia Cup.
However, the 22-year-old came into bat at No. 8 in the first ODI and bowled just 2.1 overs. He remained on the same wicket for the second ODI as well and bowled just three overs in the match before being dropped from the third ODI. Nitish was then ruled out of the first three matches of the T20I series due to neck spasms.
Chopra pointed out on his YouTube channel that using this versatile device was the best, especially during the West Indies Test series.
“As for Nitish Kumar Reddy, he had a quadriceps injury and then developed neck spasms. When all this happens, he will end up with a three-match ban, which means he is not available for selection. He didn’t even play the last ODI match. He played only a few overs in the previous one and batted one very low and another in the order, in the Test. The day he was promoted to the batting order, he didn’t bowl at all,” Chopra said.
IT DOESN’T WORK
Chopra said that India is trying to prepare for the future due to Hardik’s fitness issues, but feels that Nitish will not be the one to replace him as he has had his own injury problems and is not getting enough chances.
“We’ve tried to be future-proof or future-ready, given that Hardik Pandya might not always be available because of injuries, but Nitish Kumar Reddy is not going to be that guy because we just haven’t been able to give him enough chances. Sometimes he gets injured himself, sometimes he doesn’t get enough opportunities when he comes back. So any way you look at it now, it just doesn’t work,” Chopra said.
India and Australia will play the second T20I on October 31.
– The end
Published on:
October 30, 2025
