Kuldeep Yadav returns to T20I side, Nitish Kumar Reddy to miss Asian Games

Kuldeep Yadav has made a return to India's T20I side as the squad for the five-match series against West Indies was announced on Wednesday, September 16. During the squad announcement done by the BCCI, it was also revealed that Nitish Kumar Reddy has been pulled out of the Asian Games squad.

Kuldeep last played a T20I for India during the T20 World Cup 2026 clash against Pakistan in Colombo and was subsequently left out from the last four assignments. The left-arm spinner was part of the Sri Lanka Test series and didn't have the best returns, leading him to being snubbed for the second Test and Saransh Jain being given the chance.

After missing out on making it for the Afghanistan series and the Asian Games, Kuldeep decided to head to the county championship, where he gave everyone a timely reminder with a 10-wicket haul for Yorkshire against Essex.

Kuldeep's return may have been due to the fact that India will be without Varun Chakravarthy for an indefinite period after he sustained a side strain during the ongoing Afghanistan T20Is. Kuldeep has played 54 matches and has picked up 95 wickets for India in the format.

The T20I side will also see Jasprit Bumrah being rested as the series begins on 6th October, right after the completion of the Asian Games.INDIA T20I TEAM FOR WEST INDIES SERIES

Shreyas Iyer [C], Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan [WK], Sanju Samson [WK], Tilak Varma [VC], Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav.

The reason for Nitish missing the Asian Games is down to the fact that he has been called into the ODI squad for the three-match series against West Indies. Nitish is expected to be the replacement for Hardik Pandya in the ODI squad after the latter failed to get fit in time for the series.

BCCI also said that Vipraj Nigam has been added to the Asian Games squad as the replacement for Varun. There has been no replacement for Nitish in the side.

"Varun Chakaravarthy has been ruled out of the upcoming Japan T20I and the Asian Games owing to a side strain. The Men’s Selection Committee has named Vipraj Nigam as his replacement. Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was originally included in the Asian Games squad, has been withdrawn and will feature in the ODI series against the West Indies," read the BCCI statement.INDIA SQUAD FOR JAPAN T20I AND ASIAN GAMES

Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur, Vipraj Nigam.- EndsPublished By: alan johnPublished On: Sep 16, 2026 20:55 IST