diff --git a/pandas/_libs/parsers.pyx b/pandas/_libs/parsers.pyx
index 3077f73a8d1a4..2fd227694800c 100644
--- a/pandas/_libs/parsers.pyx
+++ b/pandas/_libs/parsers.pyx
@@ -701,7 +701,7 @@ cdef class TextReader:
             char *word
             object name, old_name
             int status
-            uint64_t hr, data_line
+            uint64_t hr, data_line = 0
             char *errors = "strict"
             StringPath path = _string_path(self.c_encoding)