India's squad for the Asian Games has changed twice over in the space of a day. The BCCI confirmed on September 16 that Vipraj Nigam will replace the injured Varun Chakaravarthy, while Nitish Kumar Reddy has been withdrawn from the same squad after being picked for the home ODI series against West Indies instead.
As reported after the second T20I against Afghanistan, Chakaravarthy picked up a side strain that ruled him out of the rest of that series and left him highly doubtful for the Asian Games. The BCCI has now made that doubt official, naming Vipraj Nigam as his replacement for both the Asian Games squad and the one-off T20I against Japan around it. It is a maiden senior international call-up for the 22-year-old leg-spinner, who has played for Delhi Capitals in the IPL and has taken 13 wickets in 19 matches at franchise level.
Reddy's case has nothing to do with fitness. He has instead been named in India's ODI squad for the three-match home series against West Indies, which begins on September 27 — a window that clashes with India's Asian Games cricket commitments. Rather than risk a scheduling conflict, the board has opted to prioritise his ODI selection and pulled him from the Asian Games party.
Nigam's call-up is the more straightforward story — a like-for-like wrist-spin replacement forced by injury, and a notable opportunity for a young IPL performer to make his international debut on a multi-sport stage. Reddy's withdrawal says more about India's selection priorities: given a choice between a Games squad and a home ODI series against a senior opponent, the board has clearly rated the bilateral fixture higher for a player they see as part of their near-term ODI plans. Neither change affects the core batting and bowling groups India have carried through the Afghanistan series, but both are reminders of how crowded India's white-ball calendar has become this month.
More coverage of India's build-up to the Asian Games and the home season ahead is available on SportGod's blog, with live scores from India's ongoing fixtures tracked on SportGod's live matches page.
Both squad changes are verified against same-day BCCI announcements and match reporting, current as of September 17, 2026.
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