File image of Nitish Reddy.© AFP
Arguably India’s brightest shining light from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25 – apart from the sensational Jasprit Bumrah – has been the emergence of Nitish Kumar Reddy. At the age of 21, Reddy was brought into Test cricket amid scepticism, and that too on a daunting tour of Australia. Four Tests later, it seems as if Nitish Reddy will be part of India in whites for years to come. Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar took his hat off to the selectors for trusting Reddy, and even compared him to Hardik Pandya.
When it comes to Indian cricket in recent years, Hardik Pandya has usually been in a league of his own in the category of fast-bowling all-rounders. The likes of Vijay Shankar and Shardul Thakur have had bright moments, but never quite the destructive excellence of Pandya.
But Gavaskar believes that Reddy’s current version, at 21, may be better than how Pandya was at the same age.
“Ever since the unavailability of Hardik Pandya for Test cricket, India has been looking for an all-rounder who can bowl medium pace and bat as well. Reddy’s bowling is still a work in progress, but as a batter, he is definitely better than Pandya was around the same time,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.
Pandya hasn’t played Test cricket since 2018, and India may have finally solved the problem with the uncovering of Nitish Reddy. The latter starred in the fourth Test in Melbourne, smashing an incredible century under immense pressure.
He also gave credit to chief selector Ajit Agarkar for the unconventional selection of Reddy.
“It’s a credit to Ajit Agarkar and his fellow selectors to have seen enough to pitchfork him into the Test arena. In his debut Test match in Perth itself, it became evident that here was a cricketer who could read situations and play accordingly. With every subsequent Test match, that impression of a good ‘cricketing head’ on his shoulders began to get stronger and stronger,” wrote Gavaskar.
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