Will Nitish Reddy play in Guwahati Test? Here’s the likely playing XI for India-South Africa second match

India are once again in unfamiliar territory. Or, should we say, not-so-unfamiliar now?

 

Having been whitewashed by New Zealand in the three-match Test series at home earlier this year, India are once again looking at a rare series defeat on home soil, this time to South Africa. Chasing a mere 124 to win in the first Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the hosts managed to lose by 30 runs.

 

The Proteas last won a Test series in India in 1999-2000, when Hansie Cronje led them to a 2-0 win. In fact, they had not won a Test match in India in 15 years, before the Kolkata triumph.

 

The shocking loss has renewed criticism of India’s team selection and head coach Gautam Gambhir’s tactics. Experts and former cricketers have been calling him out for preferring all-rounders over Test specialists.

 

ALSO READ: Is coach Gautam Gambhir’s fixation for all-rounders hurting India in Tests?

 

The trend, however, is likely to continue for now, with pace all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy being included in the India squad as cover for injured skipper Shubman Gill, who had to retire hurt in the first Test because of a neck injury, and will miss the Guwahati Test. Being a right-handed batter, Reddy is likely to be preferred over southpaws Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal, to tackle the spin threat from Simon Harmer. The 36-year-old off-spinner spun a web around Indian batters on the turning Eden Gardens pitch, picking 4/30 and 4/21 in the match.

 

Reddy has played nine Tests so far, scoring 386 runs at an average of around 30 and picking eight wickets – the highlight being his maiden century against Australia in December 2024.

 

India vs South Africa: India’s likely playing XI for Guwahati Test

 

With Gill ruled out, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is likely to captain the team in the second Test in Guwahati. The abundance of left-handers in the batting lineup is likely to tilt the scales in favour of Reddy.

 

Openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal are certain to retain their slots. All-rounder Washington Sundar was surprisingly promoted to no. 3 in the Eden Test, but he held his own in the new position, scoring 29 and 31 when regular batters were failing around him. So, he is likely to be retained despite Sudharsan being the designated no.3 batter. Both Dhruv Jurel and Pant, too, will be retained, with one of them coming at no. 4. Senior all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is another certainty in the playing XI.

 

If India include Reddy, they will have an extra pace option along with regulars Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. It will also allow them to play both spinners Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.

 

However, if India opt to go for a regular batter such as Sudharsan or Padikkal instead of Reddy in place of Gill, the hosts are likely to drop either Patel or Yadav in favour of pacer Akash Deep. While Patel gives Gambhir the extra batting cushion, Yadav is a wicket-taking bowler. Patel has been preferred over Yadav in the past, but it remains to be seen if Gambhir will take a bold call by picking the latter. 

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