Nitish Reddy dropped from India's team for the Kolkata Test

Nitish Reddy dropped from India's team for the Kolkata Test

Nitish Kumar Reddy has been released from the India squad for the first Test against South Africa. Nitish will join the India A team for the one-day series against South Africa A in Rajkot.

Nitish Kumar Reddy has been released from India’s squad for the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata. Instead, he will join the India A team for their one-day series against South Africa A in Rajkot, which runs from November 13 to 19. He is expected to rejoin the senior squad in time for the second Test in Guwahati, starting November 22.

Although India had plans to groom Reddy for future overseas tours, he hasn’t had many chances to prove himself. In the Test series against West Indies, he bowled only four overs in Ahmedabad and didn’t bowl at all in Delhi, despite India spending a lot of time in the field. With the bat, he had a short stint at No.5, facing just 54 balls, which didn’t help his case for staying in the squad.

His exit from the squad isn’t surprising, as his position was the most uncertain. That spot is likely to go to Dhruv Jurel, who has been in excellent form. Jurel recently scored two unbeaten centuries against South Africa A, adding to his earlier hundreds against West Indies and Australia A. He had also kept wickets during Rishabh Pant’s absence in the West Indies series, while Pant recovered from a foot injury.

Now that Pant is fit and ready to return, and Jurel is performing consistently, India’s selection for the first Test looks clearer. Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate confirmed Jurel’s strong chances of playing, saying, “I don’t think you can leave him out for this Test given the way Dhruv’s gone in the last six months and scoring two 100s in Bangalore last week, he’s certain to play this week.”