India’s up and coming all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has had a dream 2024 so far. From making everyone go gaga over his big-hitting skills in the IPL 2024 while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad to making it to the Indian Test squad for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Nitish Kumar Reddy has had a dream run.
Nitish Kumar Reddy couldn’t have asked for anything more. The fast-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is being looked at as a quality option, the primary reason that earned him a spot in India’s squad for the five-Test series. India have announced the squad for the five-test series against Australia. The national selectors have given Abhimanyu Easwaran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Harshit Rana a chance. With Rohit Sharma unavailable for the opening Test, Abhimanyu is likely to make his debut for the India National Cricket Team
Nitish Kumar Reddy’s stellar domestic career earns him a place in Indian national test squad
Nitish Kumar Reddy is also a part of the India A squad, which will square off against Australia A, beginning October 31. Ever since scoring 303 runs and taking 3 wickets in IPL earlier this year, Nitish Kumar Reddy’s stocks have risen exponentially. Making his T20I debut in the 2nd T20I against Bangladesh, the right-handed batter scored 74 runs and took two wickets to make heads turn.
In a wide-ranging chat with The Hindustan Times, Nitish Kumar Reddy, 21, spoke about a variety of topics, including his desire to become the best all-rounder in the world, and the kind of messages he has received from Gautam Gambhir and Hardik Pandya. More importantly, Reddy weighed in on the prospect of playing against Pat Cummins, under whom he had his breakthrough IPL season a few months back. Nitish Kumar Reddy has been fast-tracked to the Test team, and he will make his debut in the Perth Test on November 22,
Nitish Kumar Reddy may lack experience, but in the previous Ranji Trophy season, he showed his ability to swing the new ball both ways. He was also their highest wicket-taker with 25 scalps at 18.76, which featured a five-for against Mumbai. Ahead of a likely debut in Australia, Nitish Kumar Reddy will get the chance to prove his worth and get match practice in India’s ‘A’ series against Australia.
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee sprung a surprise with their India squad announcement for the upcoming five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia as they picked uncapped all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy for the tour. While the Andhra star, who made his India debut earlier this month in the T20I series against Bangladesh at home, will be backed for a Hardik Pandya-like role, the selection left former chief selector MSK Prasad concerned.
Former India selector MSK Prasad reacts to youngster Nitish Kumar Reddy being picked for Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25
Former India chief selector MSK Prasad reckons Nitish Kumar Reddy, who has been picked for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, is unlikely to be as effective as Hardik Pandya. Prasad pointed out that Reddy does not have enough experience in red-ball cricket and is not very quick with the ball in hand.
After an impressive season for SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2024, Reddy was handed his India debut during the T20I series against Bangladesh earlier this month. The 21-year-old was named Player of the Match in the second game of the series for hammering 74 off 34 balls and picking up 2-23.
While the Andhra Pradesh-born cricketer is highly rated among India’s young guns, Prasad believes his selection for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia might be premature. He told Star Sports (as quoted by Rediff.com):
“They are sure about his batting and that he can bowl 8-10 overs like Hardik Pandya used to bowl. But he is not Hardik, who bowls at 140. He just bowls at 125 to 130 kmph. I am just a little concerned with his experience in red ball cricket because he hasn’t played the format enough.”
“He did take about 25 wickets in a few of the last domestic seasons, but still, I’m concerned because of the kind of role we gave to Hardik back then after whatever Test cricket he had played. I hope he makes good use of the two India A matches he is supposed to play.”
Incidentally, Prasad, who also hails from Andhra Pradesh, was among those who spotted Reddy’s talent when he was playing Under-12 and Under-14 cricket.
India’s squad for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy
If we look at India’s squad for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, there are quite a few untested names. Bengal batter Abhimanyu Easwaran has been rewarded for some stellar performances in domestic cricket over the last few seasons. Apart from Reddy, pacer Harshit Rana has also not played Test cricket.
Among others, the likes of Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Sarfaraz Khan and keeper-batter Dhruv Jurel have only played a handful of red-ball games for India. Young opener Yashaswi Jaiswal has made a brilliant start to his Test career, but batting in Australia will be a challenge of a completely different level.
India’s squad for Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashaswi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk.), Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Dhruv Jurel (wk.), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Abhimanyu Easwaran.
Traveling reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed.
Ahead of a likely debut in Australia, Nitish Kumar Reddy will get the chance to prove his worth and get match practice in India’s ‘A’ series against Australia, which begins on Thursday.