Nitish Kumar Reddy [Source: AFP]The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has slightly modified Team India squad for the upcoming 2026 Asian Games in Japan. Apart from excluding Varun Chakaravarthy owing to his injury, the selection committee has also removed the name of star all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy from the team. However, Reddy will now be part of yet another Indian squad for a completely different assignment at home around the same time period. Nitish Kumar Reddy out of Asian Games 2026 despite POTM performance vs AFGJust a day after Nitish Kumar Reddy won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his performance against Afghanistan, the star all-rounder was ruled out of the national squad for the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.Also Read- India's All-Rounder Receives Medical Clearance For Afghanistan T20I SeriesHe will now play for Team India in their upcoming three-match ODI series against the West Indies. Notably, the ODIs against the West Indies will take place around the same time as the Asian Games.In an official media release by the BCCI on their official website, the Indian board wrote “Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was originally included in the Asian Games squad, has been withdrawn and will feature in the ODI series against the West Indies.”BCCI name replacement for injured Varun ChakaravarthyVarun Chakaravarthy has also been ruled out of India’s squad for the 2026 Asian Games. The seasoned spinner recently suffered an injury during the series against Afghanistan, having returned to the field after spending a couple of months at the CoE in Bengaluru.The BCCI has now named Vipraj Nigam as the official replacement for injured Chakaravarthy. Here is a look at India’s updated squad for the 2026 Asian Games in Japan:India's updated squad for Asian Games 2026: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 and Vipraj Nigam.Why did BCCI drop Nitish Kumar Reddy from Asian Games 2026While the BCCI did not specify any exact reason behind dropping Nitish Kumar Reddy from the 2026 Asian Games in favour of his inclusion for the ODI series against the West Indies, one can assume that the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee wants to groom the all-rounder for next year’s 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup in South Africa.With roughly a year remaining for the multi-nation tournament, it is imperative for someone for Reddy to play as many ODIs as possible.His inclusion in the ODI setup could therefore give the selectors a valuable opportunity to assess his suitability for the 50-over format ahead of the marquee tournament.The 23-year-old played the last of his six ODI matches for Team India back in June this year during a home series against Afghanistan. So far, he has played six matches in his ODI career, having aggregated just 100 runs in four innings with two wickets to his name.Also Read- Nitish Kumar Reddy Continues To Build Himself Into India’s Fifth-Bowling Option
