Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra reckons a fragile sticker should be attached on Nitish Kumar Reddy after the all-rounder was ruled out of Ireland and England T20Is with a quadriceps injury.
Reddy was recently part of the three-match ODI series against Afghnistan. After playing the opening ODI at Dharamshala, Reddy was ruled out of the second ODI due to a quad problem but returned to the playing XI for the final game at Chennai.
He bowled six wicketless overs and did not get a chance to bat against the visitors in the last ODI as India registered a comprehensive nine-wicket win. Reddy has been troubled with injury issues in the last one year and was ruled out midway through India’s Test tour of England due to a knee injury.
“Nitish Kumar Reddy has gotten injured once again. A fragile sticker should be put on him. Why put it on him alone? You should put it on everyone. Put it on Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Put a fragile sticker on all medium-pace all-rounders. Handle with care,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
Chopra said India don’t have the services of quality seam-bowling all-rounders, apart from Nitish Kumar Reddy and Hardik Pandya.
“Hardik Pandya hasn’t been available for such a long time. He is still not available. Don’t know when he will be available. Nitish Kumar Reddy is available sporadically. I think he has a quadriceps injury because of which he is out of the Ireland and England tour, and we are starting to think what would happen in 2027. You don’t have too many options left because it’s a very rare commodity,” he observed.
Meanwhile, Mumbai’s all-rounder Suryansh Shedge has been named as Nitish Kumar Reddy’s replacement and Chopra said the PBKS player is a good utility player.
“Suryansh Shedge has been selected. He also comes from Mumbai. He performed well for Mumbai and then did well for the Punjab Kings. Now he was part of the India A team, and if you see his numbers there, he has been good. A good utility cricketer. He should get opportunities because the conditions will be like that,” he said.
Chopra believes Shashank Singh could have also replaced Reddy, but he was ignored because of his mundane form in IPL 2026.
“I can’t help but think about what would have happened had Shashank Singh had a good season. He bowled decently for Punjab, and although he is a good fielder, he kept dropping catches one after the other, and he didn’t bat as well as he did in the previous two years. When a spot opened up, your form dipped a little, someone else had form, he took that place, and you were left rubbing your hands,” Chopra observed.
India will take on Ireland on Friday in Belfast.
