Former India batter Subramaniam Badrinath has questioned the inclusion of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy’s inclusion in the squad for three-ODI series against New Zealand at home. Badrinath feels Reddy has been inconsistent and his credentials with the ball are unimpressive. He wants Ruturaj Gaikwad in the side ahead of him.
"Along with the two all-rounders, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy is there in the squad. I've no idea why he's there in the side. They say he's an all-rounder but with the ball, he is getting smashed everywhere. Ruturaj Gaikwad has been hard done by," Badrinath said on his YouTube channel.
"Why is he not there in the team and why is Nitish Kumar Reddy in the team? There is definitely some inconsistency there. The other team selections were along expected lines and are very good. The only concern is the selection of Nitish Kumar Reddy over Ruturaj Gaikwad," he added.
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Reddy’s ODI debut in Australia
Reddy made his ODI debut in October 2025 on Australian soil. From two ODIs, he has 27 runs. He has bowled just 5.1 overs in ODIs. The 22-year-old is yet to take his maiden ODI wicket. He conceded runs at an economy rate of 7.74 runs per over in debut ODI series.
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Badrinath in awe of Gaikwad’s List A record
Gaikwad scored a century against South Africa on his ODI return. Badrinath pointed out at the Maharashtra captain’s List A record.
"They sent him at No. 4 against South Africa because there wasn't a spot at the top, and he responded with a hundred. Following that, he's smashing runs for fun in List-A cricket at every opportunity. He has two centuries and a half-century in six innings with an overall List-A average of over 57 with 5,000 runs. No one has such a record," said the 45-year-old.
India’s ODI squad for New Zealand series -
Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer (vc)*, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Iyer's participation in the ODI series is subject to fitness.