IND vs AUS T20: India suffer big blow ahead of series opener; Australia field once again | Cricket News
Team India’s injury situation has worsened. All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the first three T20Is against Australia as his left quadriceps injury hits another hurdle during his rehabilitation.LIVE: India vs Australia 1st T20IThis time, neck spasms have disrupted his recovery, affecting his mobility. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring his condition closely, with no definite return date yet.
Reddy originally sustained the quad strain during the second ODI in Adelaide, which kept him from the final match as well.In the BCCI’s official update, it was stated: “Nitish Kumar Reddy sustained a left quadriceps injury during the second ODI in Adelaide and was subsequently unavailable for selection for the third ODI. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring him on a daily basis.”Despite the setback, there was a glimmer of optimism from captain Suryakumar Yadav during the pre-match press conference.“He’s doing fine. Yesterday he did a bit of running and batted in the nets. Today was an optional session, so he took a breather. He looks good,” Suryakumar said.In the first T20I of the five-match series, Australia captain Mitchell Marsh won the toss and opted to field.Australia have now chosen to bowl first in all 18 of their T20Is after Marsh has bagged the toss. Since September 2022, Australia have won 30 of 53 men’s T20Is, and they have opted to bowl first in all but one of those games—against Pakistan at the SCG in 2024.India have fielded two frontline pacers in Jasprit Bumrah and Harshit Rana, with Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy handling spin duties.India XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (w), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.Australia XI: Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (w), Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Philippe, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood.
