Gambhir and VVS Laxman clash over Washington Sundar’s availability for India’s West Indies ODIs

Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman disagreed over Washington Sundar’s availability for India’s home ODI series against West Indies, which begins on September 27 in Thiruvananthapuram, Dainik Jagran reporter Abhishek Tripathi reported. The dispute resulted in Nitish Kumar Reddy being withdrawn from India’s Asian Games squad and added to the ODI side.

India named their squad for the three-match home ODI series against West Indies, with fixtures set for September 27 in Thiruvananthapuram, September 30 in Guwahati and October 3 in Tira, Punjab. The series timetable overlaps with the Asian Games, where Indian players are competing for the gold medal, and several regular starters — including Shreyas Iyer, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishan Kishan and Axar Patel — are absent from the ODI group. Auqib Nabi has been introduced into the ODI squad.

Tripathi’s report said there was a clash between the coaches of the Indian national team and the India side at the Asian Games over the availability of a specific player. VVS Laxman, who is Head of the BCCI Centre of Excellence (formerly the National Cricket Academy or NCA) in Bengaluru, was announced as the head coach of India for the Asian Games.

According to the report, head coach Gautam Gambhir, together with captain Shubman Gill, wanted Washington Sundar included in the ODI squad for the West Indies series. Washington Sundar was part of India’s Asian Games squad and would have needed to withdraw from that tournament to join the ODIs.

The Dainik Jagran account states that VVS Laxman refused the request to release Sundar and recommended Nitish Kumar Reddy for the West Indies series. Nitish Kumar Reddy, who had been named in India’s Asian Games squad, was withdrawn from the continental event and allocated to the ODI series.

Nitish Kumar Reddy will therefore be part of India’s squad for the three-match ODI series against West Indies that starts on September 27, 2026.