Nitish Reddy shared his journey from a young cricket enthusiast dreaming of playing alongside Virat Kohli to making his Test debut for India. The all-rounder reminisced about his childhood when he would calculate his age to ensure he had enough time to play with Kohli before his retirement. Reddy’s dream turned into reality when he received his maiden Test cap from Kohli ahead of the Perth Test, which India won by 295 runs, taking a 1-0 lead in the series. The 21-year-old, who grew up idolizing Kohli, expressed his admiration and excitement about playing with his hero.
“This was a safety photo, at the time he (Virat Kohli) was so famous. I felt that if I don’t get a photo chance, let’s take a picture now. It reminds me of my childhood dreams. From childhood, I was a huge fan of Virat bhaiya. I used to watch every match of him. 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,” Reddy shared his thoughts in a video posted by BCCI on its website.
During the Perth Test, Reddy was more focused on Kohli’s performance than his own.
“Now playing with him and I was watching him close to ten 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,” he recalled.
Reddy also opened up about the sacrifices his father made for his cricketing career.
“To be honest, I was not that serious when I was young. My father left his job for me. There has been lots of sacrifice behind my story,” he said.
He continued, “One day I saw him crying due to financial problems he had, and it felt like I had to do the hard work. Like, your father made this sacrifice and you are just enjoying cricket by playing it for fun. So that time, I took it seriously and suddenly in one year, I got the growth, did the hard work and it paid off.”
“Everyone said, ‘Mutyala Reddy, you made your son go this far’. As a son of a middle-class family, I am so proud that my father is so happy now and I gave my first jersey to him, where I saw happiness in his face and felt immensely proud,” Reddy added.
Adjusting to the Indian team environment was initially challenging for Reddy.
“I was a bit nervous at first about how I would interact with players. 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 it works for me,” he mentioned.
“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,” Reddy praised KL Rahul for his guidance.
Reddy emphasized the importance of shadow practice in his routine.
“I like to do a lot of shadow practising. At that time, I visualise the bowlers who are going to bowl to me and what 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 practised against them in shadow practice’. So, that’s how I keep my routine simple,” he explained.
Reddy aims to contribute to the team in every way possible.
“I 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,” he stated.
In his debut Test in Perth, Reddy impressed everyone, including captain Rohit Sharma, with his all-round performance. He scored 41 runs in the first innings, an unbeaten 38 in the second, and took a wicket, earning praise for his brilliance on the field.
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