Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar expressed high praise for Nitish Kumar Reddy‘s remarkable batting performances in the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, calling him a standout talent with the bat. However, he also pointed out that the team may need to drop Reddy for the third Test at The Gabba to strengthen their bowling lineup, despite his valuable contributions.
Nitish Kumar Reddy (NKR) at 21 had a memorable Test debut in Perth, making an immediate impact with the bat. He top-scored with 41 runs in India’s first innings total of 150. In the second innings, the right-handed batter played a quickfire knock of 38* off just 27 balls as India looked to declare. Reddy continued his strong form in the Adelaide Test, where he top-scored for India in both innings, scoring 42 runs during each of his two visits to the crease.
“You can see the rare batting talent there“- Sanjay Manjrekar on Nitish Kumar Reddy
While discussing Nitish Reddy’s impressive performances, Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo that the young batter undoubtedly possesses rare and exceptional batting talent.
“Exceptional batting talent there, and you can see it. Maybe the kind of batting talent that gets better with higher-quality bowling. He hasn’t got many runs in first-class cricket, but you can see the rare batting talent there,” Manjrekar commented.
The 59-year-old, however, noted that India might have to reconsider selecting Reddy for the next Test, as he has not yet proven to be effective with the ball. Manjrekar also called the decision to play the young batter solely as a batsman a risky one. The former India cricketer went on to explain:
“India also has to think about the balance of the team. India also have to look to make their bowling sharper along with solving the batting issues. Nitish has shown some spark at the moment. Somebody suggested, what about playing him as a pure batter in the side. Bit risky, bit too early.”
With 163 runs from four innings at an average of 54.33, Nitish Kumar Reddy is India’s second-highest run-scorer in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, behind Yashasvi Jaiswal (185). However, the batting all-rounder has only taken two wickets with his medium pace and has rarely looked threatening with the ball.
Team India’s expected changes for the Brisbane Test after poor show in Adelaide
India failed to capitalize on their strong start in the Test series in Perth, suffering a heavy 10-wicket defeat in Adelaide, which leveled the five-match series 1-1. With the third Test set to begin in Brisbane on December 14, the visitors are likely to consider making changes.
Although their options are limited in the batting department, Washington Sundar or Ravindra Jadeja could replace Ravichandran Ashwin in the playing XI. In the pace attack, India has Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna, both of whom were on the bench for the first two Tests.