Team India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy received his first ODI cap from veteran batter Rohit Sharma ahead of Sunday’s series opener against Australia at Perth’s Optus Stadium on October 19. Reddy earned a call-up following Hardik Pandya’s injury during the 2025 Asia Cup and was immediately included in the playing XI.
With Australian conditions favoring seam-bowling all-rounders, many expected Reddy to feature in the side. As anticipated, he was presented his cap before the toss, as India opted for a three-all-rounder setup alongside Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.
Rohit Sharma offered words of guidance during the pre-match huddle before officially handing Reddy his ODI cap, making him an all-format Indian cricketer. The youngster had already represented India in nine Tests and four T20Is since his debut last year. You can watch the moment here:
A day he will never forget! ✨
It's a special moment for debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy, who receives his ODI cap from Rohit Sharma 🧢 🇮🇳
Updates ▶ https://t.co/O1RsjJTHhM#TeamIndia | #AUSvIND | @NKReddy07 pic.twitter.com/ZpJUaiQqC5
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 19, 2025
The newcomer will take the field with the bat as India begin their innings after being asked to bat first by Australia’s stand-in captain Mitchell Marsh.
Nitish Kumar Reddy Previously Received Test Cap At Same Venue In 2024
The young all-rounder had also made his red-ball debut at Perth’s Optus Stadium during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series opener, stepping in as regular seam-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur was left out. On that occasion, he received his Test cap from legendary batter and former captain Virat Kohli.
Reddy enjoyed a memorable debut, top-scoring in the first innings and claiming the wicket of Mitchell Marsh in the second. At present, Team India stand at 13 without loss after three overs, with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill facing the experienced Australian pace duo of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood with the new ball.
India’s ODI squad: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.
India’s T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar.
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