The preparations of India for the second and last Test match against South Africa have taken an unexpected turn by the early emergency recall of Nitish Kumar Reddy into the squad. Guhawati is the venue for the last Test between India and South Africa from November 22.
Nitish Kumar Reddy was released to participate in the one-day series of India A against South Africa A just last week, but the team management has now called the young all-rounder back from India A early as they review their choice for the last Test.
Injury to Shubman Gill prompts India to bring in Nitish Kumar Reddy
Initially, BCCI had mentioned Reddy would join the team directly for the second Test, but the injury to Shubman Gill disrupted India’s strategy. The fitness of Gill is the primary concern for the selectors with respect to the Guwahati Test.
The Indian captain got injured while attempting a sweep shot in the first test and had to retire after facing just 3 balls due to a neck spasm. He was admitted to the hospital and was under the care of Dr. Dinesh Pardiwala. However, he has now been released from the hospital in Kolkata.
The right-hander is scheduled to fly with the team to Guwahati on Wednesday (November 19), but whether he will be able to play or not is still uncertain. The medical team is keeping a very close watch on Gill, but the likelihood is high that he might go to Guwahati alone and miss the match against South Africa.
Nitish Kumar Reddy has not yet made it to the squad at Eden Gardens.
On the other hand, it seems that the Indian cricket team has called Nitish Kumar Reddy prompting his early arrival as in Times of India. Reddy is back to the Test squad already in Kolkata and he is to be part of the team’s optional training session at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday, November 18.
The Indian all-rounder had very limited participation for India A in the 50-over format as he played only one match where he scored 37 and took 1/18 in Rajkot against South Africa A. The return of Reddy to the Test squad means that he will not be available for the third India A game on November 19 in Rajkot.
Reddy’s return has brought up the discussion of the Indian cricket team not having left-handed batsman Reddy in the lineup for the first match or playing him at the end when the team is trying to keep left-right combinations balanced.
Sitting in Guwahati could be the fate of Devdutt Padikkal and Sai Sudharsan
Nonetheless, even though Devdutt Padikkal and Sai Sudharsan would be the ones on the bench, Reddy has more or less already gotten a spot in the team for the second and final Test against South Africa, where the hosts aspire to tie the series after suffering a narrow defeat of 30 runs in the opening game.
Interestingly, Guwahati is all set to welcome its first-ever Test match. After the first Test ended in less than three days, India was in dire need of reviving and leveling the series 1–1. Following the Test series, the two sides will also engage in three ODIs and five T20Is
.