India spinner Varun Chakravarthy has been ruled out of the upcoming one‑off T20I against Japan and the Asian Games after suffering a side strain during the first T20I against Afghanistan in Delhi.
The selectors have named Vipraj Nigam, a leg‑spin allrounder, as his replacement. This marks Nigam’s maiden international call‑up, a breakthrough moment for the youngster who first rose to prominence in IPL 2025 with Delhi Capitals. That season, he claimed 11 wickets and scored 142 runs at a blistering strike rate of 179.74.
Although his IPL 2026 numbers were modest, Nigam impressed for India A in the one‑day tri‑series in Sri Lanka earlier this year, finishing as joint‑highest wicket‑taker with seven scalps and contributing 116 runs at a strike rate of 126.08.
Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar Reddy, originally part of the Asian Games squad, has been withdrawn and will now feature in the upcoming ODI series against West Indies.
With Chakravarthy unavailable, India are expected to rely on Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi as frontline spinners, supported by Washington Sundar and Nigam.
India’s Updated Squad for Japan T20I and Asian Games
Shreyas Iyer (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vice‑capt), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur, Vipraj Nigam.
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