Nitish Kumar Reddy ruled out of first three T20Is against Australia

Fast-bowling allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy's return to action has been set back by neck spasms, which has "impacted his recovery and mobility", according to a BCCI update on Wednesday morning.

Reddy, 22, had sustained a left quadriceps injury during the second ODI against Australia on October 23. He missed the following ODI in Sydney, which India won by nine wickets to cut down the series margin to 2-1.

India are already without their premier allrounder Hardik Pandya, who is recovering from a quadriceps injury of his own. Without Hardik, India have looked unbalanced, but the good news for them is that Shivam Dube, the other seam-bowling allrounder in the touring party, is fit and was picked in the XI for the first T20I in Canberra after being sidelined from the opening round of the Ranji Trophy with back stiffness.

Reddy has had a difficult time with injuries, especially this year. In July, he had been ruled out of the fourth and fifth Tests in England with a knee injury. He had suffered the injury while training in the gym before hurting his quadriceps in Australia.

He has played 15 internationals for India so far, since making his debut in the Perth Test in November 2024.

In the first T20I in Canberra, India picked three spinners in Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel, sticking to their successful template from the Asia Cup, which they won in late September.