T20 World Champions India have suffered a major double injury blow ahead of their upcoming Asian Games campaign and friendly match against Japan, with mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy officially ruled out of the tournament.

The 35-year-old spinner, who had initially been sidelined from India's ongoing three-match T20 series against Afghanistan due to a hamstring injury sustained in his comeback match, has been ruled unfit for the continental event.

In his place, the selectors have handed a maiden international call-up to leg-spinning all-rounder Vipraj Nigam. Additionally, pace-allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has been withdrawn from the squad as a precautionary measure, though he is expected to return for the home ODI series against the West Indies following the Asian Games.

Vipraj Nigam Earns Debut Call-Up

Vipraj Nigam, who rose to prominence during the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season while representing the Delhi Capitals, earns his first national team call-up:

• IPL Performance Record: Took 11 wickets in 14 matches while scoring 142 runs at a strike rate of 179.74 for Delhi Capitals.

• Spin Department Dynamics: With Chakaravarthy absent, Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi are expected to lead India's primary spin attack, backed by Washington Sundar and Nigam.

Updated Indian Squad for Japan T20 and Asian Games

Squad: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yash Thakur, Vipraj Nigam.