Shivam Dube to replace Nitish Kumar Reddy in India’s squad for Zimbabwe

Shivam Dube to replace Nitish Kumar Reddy in India's squad for Zimbabwe.

Shivam Dube and Nitish Kumar Reddy, image courtesy: X

A couple of days after the Indian squad was announced for Zimbabwe, BCCI was forced to make a solitary change as Nitish Kumar Reddy has been replaced by Shivam Dube. Even though the apex cricket body in India didn’t reveal the true nature of Reddy’s injury, yet it was confirmed that Dube, who continues to be a part of Team India in the ongoing T20 World Cup is going to continue his long run.

Nitish Reddy who is just 21 years old, is a seam-bowling all-rounder was heavily impressive in the IPL 2024 for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Before that, he had his own shares of triumphs in India’s domestic cricketing circuit, playing crucial knocks for Hyderabad.

He made 303 runs in the latest IPL season and struck at a staggering rate of 142.92. His feisty 64 off 37 against the Punjab Kings and 76 off 42 against the Rajasthan Royals were the main highlights of an explosive stay in the center. As far as reports go, Reddy has been under NCA’s watch of young players for a year now and his recent performances saw him dishing out some clean hitting in the IPL while also impressive with the ball in his hands.

Shivam Dube continues to be a part of the Indian squad at the T20 World Cup. Despite a sloppy start, he has managed to showcase excellence of the highest order, hammering away at will against Bangladesh and Australia.

Even though his strike rate of 107.07 has been alarming, yet experts have expressed their thoughts about how Dube can be a game-changer if he can manage to get going and get a bit more of game time.

His inclusion to the Indian squad will be a massive addition to their middle-order. As the bigger names featuring the likes of Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are being rested, the inclusion of Dube means India can afford some hard-hitting at number four if needed.

A glance at the updated Indian squad for Zimbabwe

Shubman Gill will be leading the Indian squad in Zimbabwe while he will have Ruturaj Gaikwad as his deputy in Zimbabwe. This is an amazing opportunity for Rinku Singh as well to continue showing his brilliance in the international squad.

Updated Indian squad: Ꮪhubman Gill (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande

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