Why is Nitish Kumar Reddy not playing today's IND vs ENG 2025 2nd T20I?

Team India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy will not be taking part in the second T20I against England at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The 21-year-old sustained a side strain injury yesterday, January 24, which has ruled him out of the upcoming contest and the series as a whole.

Reddy did a great job in the field a couple of days ago in the first T20I against England in Kolkata. While he didn't bowl or wasn't needed with the bat in hand, the SunRisers Hyderabad all-rounder took two catches of Jamie Overton and of Jos Buttler, who had scored a half-century in the game.

As per a media release from BCCI, Reddy suffered a side strain during the practice session on Friday, January 24. The release, which also stated what steps will be followed for the player's recovery, read:

"All-rounder Nitish Reddy sustained a side strain injury in the practice session on 24th January in Chennai. He is ruled out of the ongoing 5-match T20I series. Reddy will head to the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru for further management."

Team India have had two backups added to the team, with Shivam Dube and Ramandeep Singh expected to join the team. Singh made his debut against South Africa back in November 2024, with Dube being out of action for Team India since August 2024 owing to a back injury.

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Team India lead 1-0 against England in the ongoing IND vs ENG 2025 T20I series

Team India had a great outing in Kolkata, beating England by seven wickets. Opting to bowl first, the visitors were bundled out for 132, with Jos Buttler (68 off 44) being the only batter for the visitors to score in excess of 25. For the hosts, Varun Chakravarthy was the star with the ball in hand, picking up three wickets.

Thanks to Abhishek Sharma's knock of 79 runs in 34 balls, Team India made light work of the chase, coasting home to a seven-wicket win. The two teams will be playing in the second game today, January 25 at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.