Can India utilise Nitish Kumar Reddy as a replacement for Hardik Pandya? Aakash Chopra answers
The Men in Blue have been hit hard by recent injury setbacks. The India vs Australia ODI series witnessed Shreyas Iyer suffer a nasty blow, as the vice-captain ruptured his spleen in Sydney. Meanwhile, even before the Australia tour began, the white-ball squad was left without the services of Hardik Pandya. The experienced pace all-rounder sustained a hamstring injury during the Asia Cup 2025. In his absence, it was anticipated that Nitish Kumar Reddy would play a pivotal role Down Under. However, the youngster has now suffered an injury himself. Meanwhile, former cricketer Aakash Chopra has suggested that even when fit, Reddy is unlikely to be able to play the role that Pandya performs for India.
Aakash Chopra does not see Nitish Kumar Reddy as a long-term replacement for Hardik Pandya
Former cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that the young pace all-rounder, Nitish Kumar Reddy is unlikely to become the long-term successor to Hardik Pandya for India. Chopra explained that it is largely because the team management has not given him enough opportunities to prove himself. Reddy was included in both the ODI and T20I squads for the India vs Australia series, with Pandya still on the sidelines recovering from the injury he picked up during the Asia Cup 2025.
Despite named in both the white-ball squad for the Australia Tour, the 22-year-old saw limited involvement. In the first ODI, he found himself down at No. 8 in the batting order and bowled only 2.1 overs. His role remained unchanged in the second ODI, where he bowled just three overs before later being ruled out of the IND vs AUS 3rd ODI entirely.
The pace all-rounder was then confirmed to have been ruled out of the first three of the five India vs Australia T20Is. After sustaining a left quadriceps injury, Nitish Kumar Reddy complained of neck spasms, leading to his unavailability for the majority of the IND vs AUS T20I series. Discussing the situation on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra highlighted that Nitish had been utilised most effectively during the India vs West Indies Test series, hinting that his role in white-ball formats has been unclear.
"Nitish Kumar Reddy had quadriceps injury and after that he also developed neck spasms. When all that happens, he ends up being ruled out for three matches, meaning he's unavailable for selection. He didn't play the last ODI match either. In the previous one he did play, he bowled only a few overs and batted very low in the order. Before that, he played in the Test matches, in one he batted and in another he bowled. The day he was promoted up the batting order, he didn't bowl at all," said Chopra.
The former Indian opener added that India is clearly exploring future options given the recurring fitness concerns for Hardik Pandya. However, Chopra doubted whether Nitish Kumar Reddy will eventually fill that role. The youngster has had his own struggles with injuries and simply has not received enough game time to stake a solid claim. The IND vs AUS 2nd T20I is set to take place on October 31.
"We were trying to make ourselves future-ready or future-proof, considering that Hardik Pandya might not always be available due to injuries, but Nitish Kumar Reddy won't be that guy, because we just haven't been able to give him enough chances. Sometimes he gets injured himself; other times, he doesn't get enough opportunities after coming back. So whichever way you look at it, it's just not working out right now," said Chopra.
