Shivam Dube To Replace Injured Nitish Reddy In India's Zimbabwe Tour Squad

Shivam Dube has been called up to replace the injured Nitish Kumar Reddy in India's squad for the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe. The five-match series is set to take place in July.

Nitish Reddy, who made a significant impact in IPL 2024, was initially selected for his first senior national team appearance. However, an injury has delayed his debut in the blue jersey.

Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed Dube's inclusion on Wednesday (June 26). "The Men's Selection Committee named Shivam Dube as a replacement for the injured Nitish Reddy in India's squad for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe," stated the BCCI.

The BCCI Medical Team will oversee Nitish Reddy's recovery. During IPL 2024 with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), he scored 302 runs at a strike rate of 142.92 and took three wickets.

Dube joins Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson from India's T20 World Cup squad for the Zimbabwe tour. He has delivered crucial performances during the ongoing T20 World Cup.

Initially, selectors considered Venkatesh Iyer as a replacement but opted for Dube instead. Iyer joins KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Varun Chakravarthy in missing out on this squad selection.

India had earlier announced a 15-member squad for the Zimbabwe tour. Shubman Gill will captain this new-look team in early July following the T20 World Cup 2024.

The series opener is scheduled for July 6 at Harare Sports Club with the second match at the same venue on July 7. The final T20I will be played on July 14 at Harare Sports Club.

This reshuffle aims to maintain team balance while giving opportunities to emerging talents like Dube. Fans eagerly await to see how these changes impact India's performance against Zimbabwe.