Varun had made his India comeback in first T20I after missing the Zimbabwe tour due to injury.
The squad update came after mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy got injured during the first T20I between Afghanistan and India, which was played on September 13 in Delhi. Varun bowled his four overs, taking one wicket for 16 runs.
The BCCI has confirmed Chakaravarthy’s injury and clarified that the spinner will not be part of the Asian Games 2026 in Japan. In his place, the BCCI has selected young spin all-rounder Vipraj Nigam and also revealed that Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was originally part of the squad for the Japan tour, has been withdrawn.
“Varun Chakaravarthy has been ruled out of the upcoming Japan T20I and the Asian Games owing to a side strain. The Men’s Selection Committee has named Vipraj Nigam as his replacement. Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was originally included in the Asian Games squad, has been withdrawn and will feature in the ODI series against the West Indies,” BCCI had confirmed in a statement.
Nigam, the 22-year-old cricketer, plays for Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and has played 19 games, where he has picked 13 wickets with his leg spin. In addition, he is a batting asset as well, with an impressive strike rate of around 176 in the IPL. Nigam was recently with the Indian squad on the Sri Lanka tour as a net bowler.
India’s updated squad for the Japan T20I & the Asian Games:
Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur, Vipraj Nigam
(BCCI inputs)