3 reasons why India releasing Nitish Kumar Reddy from squad ahead of IND vs SA 2025 1st Test is the wrong move

Emerging all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy finds himself in the playing XI of India, but the 'A' side, rather than the main Test team, that will face South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata from Friday, November 14 onwards. The youngster had to travel all across the country to Rajkot after being released from the Test squad at the last minute.

The late radical switch continues Nitish Kumar Reddy's erratic journey in international cricket so far, where his potential is met with confusing signals by the team management and sporadic opportunities. After a promising debut series in Australia, the all-rounder was sidelined for India's next Test in England, where India had a change of mind and brought back Shardul Thakur into the mix. One Test later, Reddy was back in the playing XI.

The confusing trend only continued after he was included in the home Tests against the West Indies, but once again, his run ends abruptly and is devoid of any momentum as he is not part of the playing XI again.

On that note, let us take a look at the three reasons why India releasing Nitish Kumar Reddy from the squad ahead of IND vs SA 2025 1st Test is the wrong move.

#1 A third seam bowling option could be handy at the Eden Gardens at this time of the year

Just a short while ago, India included Nitish Kumar Reddy in the mix for the second Test against the West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, despite knowing that the surface has almost nothing in it for the seamers. Unsurprisingly, he did not bowl a single over in the entire game, but was able to hold his own with a striking cameo, to warrant his selection.

Now, with an apparent sporting surface at Eden Gardens on offer, which promises help for the seamers, the all-rounder is being released from the squad altogether. The early winter conditions and a pitch that offers movement will need input from the seamers before the spinners can come into play later on.

While Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj are more than well-equipped to make the most of ideal conditions, they need another bowler to keep the charge going after their spell. With this particular combination, India have to turn to a spinner immediately after the pacers' spell. Unless the team management take a radical approach and bring in Akash Deep at the expense of a spinner or batting depth, the team have to suffer with a lack of influence by pacers.

Moreover, even recent matches at the venue lean towards the idea of a third pacer in the bowling attack. In the two matches at the iconic stadium played at the early stages of the 2025-26 domestic season, Bengal fielded as many as four seam bowling options, including the pair of Ishan Porel and Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal. The pair picked up a combined 10 wickets in the season-opening win over Uttarakhand. The pair did a stellar job while coming in after the new ball pair of Mohammad Shami and Akash Deep did the heavy lifting.

#2 South Africa have profited immensely by infusing a pace bowling all-rounder in their playing XI

The Proteas may have had to turn to the spinners almost all the time on the dustbowls in Pakistan, but with much more practical pitches in India, they have the opportunity to bring their seam bowling all-rounders into play.

In recent times, South Africa have had the luxury of an extra bowling option since their radical move of promoting Wiaan Mulder paid off. They already have the luxury of Marco Jansen's handy batting ability, classifying him as an all-rounder as well.

As a result, they can freely include three frontline spinners, while having a sixth bowling option ready, in case needed, while not compromising on their batting.

Given that India already has a lot of faith in Reddy's batting ability, and rightly so, he could have also slotted in as the third seamer in the playing XI, since it is better to have it and not need it, rather than need it and not have it. Granted, the Men in Blue do not have a clear-cut vacancy to slot the all-rounder in the top six like South Africa have done, but it is not an impossible task as it seems.

#3 Team India are going back on their word by excluding Nitish Kumar Reddy

Pace bowling all-rounders featuring in home Tests is a rarity of the highest order, which is why Nitish Kumar Reddy's inclusion in the playing XI for the West Indies series was a massive surprise. The fact that he bowled only four overs, while a pure batter like Devdutt Padikkal was on the sidelines, only made things worse.

On that occasion, skipper Shubman Gill had defended the all-rounder's inclusion as the team wished to groom players and not just cast them only as overseas specialists of sorts.

“He [Nitish Kumar Reddy] didn't really get to bowl in this match. We don't want players to only play matches overseas. That puts a lot of pressure on the players. We want to groom certain players that we think can help us win matches overseas because that's been a challenge for us,” Gill had said during the post-match presentation after India's win in the second Test against West Indies (via cricket.com)

However, in the very next home Test, Reddy finds himself not even part of the squad, despite having much more suitable conditions to operate compared to the couple of matches that he did play.

If the combination for the first Test against South Africa clicks, then it will be very difficult for Nitish Kumar Reddy to be anywhere near the playing XI in a home Test, making the team management's words regarding his development as completely irrelevant.

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Edited by Gokul Nair