Canberra [Australia], October 29 : India's promising all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the first three T20 Internationals against Australia due to fitness concerns, confirmed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The youngster, who was in the process of recovering from a left quadriceps injury picked up during the second ODI in Adelaide, has now complained of neck spasms, which have further affected his recovery and mobility.
The BCCI Medical Team is closely monitoring his condition and progress.
Reddy, who has featured in four T20Is so far, has scored 90 runs, with a highest score of 74, and has also taken three wickets in this format.
Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh won the toss and put India to bat first in the first T20I of the five-match series, which is being played at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Wednesday.
After winning the toss, Mitchell Marsh said, "We are going to bowl first. It's a good surface. I think most of the time we come to Canberra, it's always a great surface and beautiful ground, and it's going to be a stellar crowd, so I'm looking forward to it. (On his side, playing an aggressive brand of cricket) Yeah, as does India. I think both sides just lack a lot of power. As we know, India is the number one-ranked side in the world for a reason, so I'm certainly up and about for the contest. (Build-up to the World Cup) Yeah, it's exciting. I think all teams around the world now are really pushing their deal towards the World Cup, so we're excited to test ourselves against the number-one-ranked side in the world. (Team combination) Eleven players - a few batters, a few bowlers, and a few all-rounders. Keep it simple (smiles)."
Team India captain Suryakumar Yadav said, "We were looking to bat first. I mean, it looks like a good wicket. And I heard from our analysts that there have not been a lot of games played here. Might get slower in the second innings. So, yeah, we wanted to bat first. (On the prep for the series) Yeah, I mean, we were here three or four days before this game. Though it was cold yesterday and today. But today, it looks good. Hopefully, we'll have a good game. (On India's good run in T20 cricket) Yeah, I mean, they know what's to be done when they go inside. They know their roles really well. Have good responsibility on their shoulders. And they just enjoy the game. (On picking the XI) Big headache, yeah. It's a good headache. It's not a bad headache. It's a good headache to have. But yeah, good to have so many options. The guys who are missing out are Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep and Nitish."