In his own words, he was not “serious” about cricket in his early days. But everything changed for Nitish Reddy when he saw tears rolling down his father’s face owing to their financial struggles. It was a transformative moment for the young all-rounder who vowed to work harder and achieve success in the game, which culminated in a fine debut for India in the first Test against Australia at Perth. Reddy produced an impressive show, scoring 41 and 38 runs in the two innings against the likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood at Optus Stadium. He also claimed a wicket as India registered a massive 295-run win.
“To be honest, I was not serious when I was young,” he said in a video released by the BCCI on Thursday.
“My father left his job for me and there has been a lot of sacrifice behind my story. One day, I saw him crying because of the financial problems we were facing, and I was like, this is not how you can be… that my father made the sacrifices and you play cricket just for fun.
“At that time, I became serious and I got the growth. I worked hard and it paid off. As a son from a middle-class family, I am so proud that my father is happy now. I gave my first jersey to him and saw the happiness in his face,” he added.
The 21-year-old is likely to retain his spot in the Pink-ball second Test at Adelaide Oval, having slammed 42 off 32 balls in the day-night warm-up match against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra.
In the second innings at Perth, Reddy shared an unbroken 77-run partnership with his hero Virat Kohli, who handed him his maiden Test cap ahead, thus fulfilling a childhood dream.
Recalling the time when he took a selfie with Kohli and his actor wife Anushka Sharma during the 2018 BCCI awards night, Reddy said, “This was a safety photo, at the time he (Virat Kohli) was so famous. I felt that if I don’t get a chance for photo later, let’s take a picture now.
“It’s reminding me of my childhood memories. From childhood, I was a huge fan of Virat bhaiya. I used to watch every match of his, so that he scores a hundred and celebrates it.
“I liked his celebration a lot – at that time, I used to calculate my age so as to see if he doesn’t retire when I make my debut for India.” On his partnership with Kohli, Reddy said, “Now playing with him and I was seeing him close to 10 runs, then five runs and I was thinking, he’s close to getting his hundred. Even, I didn’t realise that I was close to getting my fifty – it would be my first fifty in Tests if I scored 12 runs.
“I was so pumped up when he got his 81st hundred and it was a great moment to see.” Reddy also highlighted the impact of the advice he received from KL Rahul before his debut.
“I was a bit nervous at first on how I will interact with players, who I have seen on TV while growing up. So, if I have any problems, I just want to go and talk with KL bhai. I somehow feel good vibes from him, whatever suggestions he gives that works for me.” “He once said, ‘macha, when you go out in the centre, everything is going so fast. Don’t go so fast, just slow down the game’. It’s because my first match went in that way; everything happened so fast in seconds and that really helped me before going out to bat in my debut match.” The all-rounder explained his preparation for high-pressure games, saying: “I do like doing a lot of shadow practising. At that time, I visualise bowlers who are going to bowl to me and what all shots I can play to them as per the situation.
“When you actually face them in the centre, it will be like ‘arey, you already practiced against them in shadow practice’. So, that’s how I keep my routine simple.” Reddy, who sees himself as a “three-dimensional” player, expressed an eagerness to contribute further.
“I am so excited, I had a good debut and I just want to continue my contribution to the team. With the pink ball, I want to see how much swing I can get as a fast-bowler. When I faced the first ball (in the practice match), I left it and saw how it behaved,” he said.
“I just want to maintain my hunger for good performances. I personally feel I do good in three dimensions, and want to help the team whatever they want from me, so that’s what I want to just focus on.” The second Test begins here on Friday.
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