Nitish Reddy finalized in India playing XI for Perth Test against Australia

The 21-year-old India National Cricket Team fast-bowling all-rounder Nitish Reddy is all set to make his Test debut in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

According to the latest report in the Indian Express, the Indian team management has made the decision to hand over the Test cap to Nitish Reddy for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener in Perth.

Also Read: Jasprit Bumrah named captain as Rohit Sharma shatters BCCI’s hopes and skips Perth Test

Nitish Reddy to be India's fourth seamer

The 21-year-old all-rounder is looked at as the fourth seamer by the Indian team management, with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and one among Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, and Harshit Rana being the first three.

The surface in Perth’s Optus Stadium will have enough bounce and carry, and it will be the perfect time to unleash Reddy, who can make full use of the conditions on offer.

Nitish Reddy was picked over Shardul Thakur despite the latter's past heroics. The youngster received the vote of the head coach, Gautam Gambhir, and was given the nod for the marquee Test series.

Reddy has so far played 3 T20Is for India National Cricket Team and has been very impactful. Talking about his first-class record, he has played 23 matches and has scored 779 runs at an average of 21.05. With the ball, he has taken 56 first-class wickets.

Rohit Sharma is out of the Perth Test

As Nitish Reddy features in his first Test match, he will not be playing under Rohit Sharma as the India skipper has made the decision to skip the Perth Test.

Rohit Sharma hadn't traveled with Team India to Australia and stayed back in Mumbai to be with his wife for the birth of their second child. They welcomed the baby boy on November 15 and Rohit has made the decision to stay with his family for some more time.

The Indian skipper has officially communicated his decision to skip the match to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the designated vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah will be taking over the leadership duties.

KL Rahul recovered from injury, likely to play 1st Test against Australia

Other than Rohit Sharma, India will be missing the services of Shubman Gill, who is out with a thumb fracture. He injured his thumb on day 2 of match simulation while fielding in the slips.

The scans revealed a fracture and Gill was declared unavailable for the Perth Test. He will take around 14 days to recover and could feature in the second match.

Meanwhile, the backup opener KL Rahul had also suffered an injury scare during the intra-squad match as he suffered a blow on his elbow while facing Prasidh Krishna.

However, he returned to the nets on Sunday, November 17, and in a video shared by BCCI, he confirmed that he was fully fine.

Reportedly, KL Rahul is all set to make it to India playing XI in Perth, and the wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel will also feature as a specialist batsman.