Harshit Rana vs Nitish Kumar Reddy - who should start in India's playing 11 for 1st IND vs ENG T20I 2025? 

Team India returns to white-ball cricket after a while, and it naturally reintroduces selection headaches. A side in a rich vein of form, buoyed by a thumping series win in South Africa, arguably faces its biggest test under Suryakumar Yadav's leadership when they take on a well-honed England setup.

While the majority of the names fill themselves in the playing XI, there are two candidates with polar opposite profiles who make a serious case to be a part of the side.

Nitish Kumar Reddy, fresh from his exploits in Australia, is looking to make a strong case in white-ball cricket to be an all-format all-rounder for the team. After not being considered as a left-field choice for the Champions Trophy, he will be desperate to use the momentum he has.

Harshit Rana has had to wait a long while for his white-ball debut. With some of the senior pacers rested for the time being, it comes across as the perfect opportunity for him to make a strong case for himself.

Team India squad for five-match T20I series against England

Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (vc), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk).

On that note, let us take a look at who among Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana should make it to the Team India playing XI for the first T20I against England.

#1 Recent form

Both Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy were part of the red-ball squad for the Border-Gavaskar series in Australia. Their selections were questioned during the build-up to the tour, and both were handed their maiden caps in the series opener,

Rana made a strong impression in Perth but soon fizzled out. He was replaced by Akash Deep midway through the series and lost out to Prasidh Krishna for an open spot in the playing XI in the series finale in Sydney. He has not played any white-ball cricket for a considerable while though. The pacer was included in the squad for the home series against Bangladesh but sustained a bout of flu ahead of his expected debut.

Nitish Kumar Reddy had a breakthrough debut series against Australia, largely due to his efforts with the bat. He ended up as the second leading run-scorer for India in the five-match affair having played all of the matches. Much like Rana, he has not been involved in white-ball cricket of late but has looked in stunning touch.

#2 Skillset

Nitish Kumar Reddy's dual skillset gives India batting depth as well as extra bowling options, both of which have been among the salient factors in India's new-age T20 side. Apart from his ability with both bat and ball, his versatility is also a huge point to his name. Capable of batting in any position in the middle order, he showcased his ability during the Bangladesh series, when he took on the spinners in particular.

On the other hand, Harshit Rana comes across as an option for all three phases of the innings. His variations could come in handy, as will his ability to bowl in the death. As an added factor, his experience bowling at the Eden Gardens for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) could also come in handy. In 11 matches at the venue, he has taken 15 wickets at an economy rate of 9.74.

#3 Team Combination

This is where things get a little tricky for Nitish Reddy. In his maiden series, he largely featured at No.4 and made a decent impression. However, Tilak Varma's stellar series in South Africa, has arguably made him undroppable, coupled with the fact he is another left-handed batter who helps keep the continuity along with Abhishek Sharma at the top, and Rinku Singh below.

Taking that into account, India's top four are likely to be Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, and Suryakumar Yadav. Furthermore, India are more than blessed with a dominant set of finishers and all-rounders like Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, and Axar Patel to bring balance and give batting depth.

With the batting more or less a settled unit without Nitish Kumar Reddy, and considering the threat of the dominant and explosive English batting unit, India could perhaps do with a specialist bowler, rather than a batting all-rounder.

Nitish looks like a misfit among the firing top four, and sending him too late in the batting order, when there are accomplished finishers already present, makes little sense. Additionally, his bowling is also in need of more work before he can be recognized as a true all-rounder.

India boasts a fairly straightforward bowling combination. They have two sureshot starting options in the pace department (Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh), two all-rounders (Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel), and a frontline spinner in Varun Chakravarthy. Recent trends show that India needs as many bowling options as possible, so the minimum of five certainly will not cut it.

Shami is largely to take the new ball, while Arshdeep and Axar are also bound to have a say in the powerplay. Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakravarthy can largely control the middle overs, and that leaves a gaping hole in the death overs, which Harshit Rana can fill, assisting Arshdeep in the process. Thus, Rana makes a better case to complete the bowling attack instead of Reddy.

To conclude, having Nitish Kumar Reddy in the playing XI might ironically lead to an imbalance in favor of the batters, leaving the bowling unit compromised. Considering India's batting prowess from top to bottom, and the importance of a credible additional bowling option, Harshit Rana seems the better fit to play in this particular setup, circumstances, and combination.