The young and upcoming star all-rounder of the Indian team, Nitish Reddy at the end of the last Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, spoke about how he would be giving his best once gets selected for the national team, which he has been dreaming since his childhood days, and has taken the right step with the ‘Emerging Player’ award in this recent season of the league.
With the selectors deciding to provide rest to the senior members of the side, they went with the young Nitish Reddy for five-match T20I series in Zimbabwe and was expected to be the like-for-like replacement of Hardik Pandya. In this IPL 2024, the Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder finished with 303 runs in 13 innings, at an average of 33.67 and a strike rate of nearly 143, with two crucial half-centuries.
But the luck didn’t work in his favor. Instead of flying to Harare with the next generation of Indian players, he was forced to go to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to recover.
‘A lot of help came from Hardik Pandya through batting and bowling’- Nitish Reddy
The Andhra Pradesh-born could be the star performer for India, especially in the white-ball formats, as he has the temperament of coming up the order and showcasing his talent with the bat. Nitish Reddy, during a game in the IPL against Punjab Kings, showed how dominant he could be in understanding the situation of the game.
Also Read: India Selectors Name Replacement After Injured Nitish Reddy Gets Ruled Out For Zimbabwe Tour
During a recent interview with India Today, he opened up on his emotions after being ruled out of the ongoing Zimbabwe series. He feels that injuries are just part and parcel of a player’s life, and he would be prepared more once the next opportunity arrives.
‘It is everyone’s dream to play for India. I was really close to it and then the injury came in. I don’t blame the injury as it is a part and parcel of a player’s life.’ Nitish Reddy expressed to ‘India Today’ recently. ‘So whatever happened has happened. I want to work on myself in this off-season. I am working on my shoulder and also on the sides.’
The injury of a sports hernia is minor, as the all-rounder has revealed, and feels that at the moment he is feeling much better and a few days of rest and some rehab would make him fit.
‘I have sports hernia. It is a minor injury. They said that a surgery was not needed and I have to just take some rest and get some rehab done.’ Nitish Reddy noted. ‘I’ve been going through that, and we actually don’t know how much time it takes, but now I’m feeling much better. Better than before. At the end of the day it is my physio’s call.’
When asked how the felt about joining ‘Puma’ which has several elite athletes and iconic players in history, the 21-year-old feels to be encouraged and talked about how they supported him during the Indian Premier League as well.
It is a good feeling to have partnered with Puma. Really happy to be part of the Puma family as well. Virat Kohli, Shami, and Mandhana are a part of Puma.’ Nitish Kumar Reddy observed during the same interview. ‘So it feels so encouraging for us. They supported me during IPL as well. I love the fact that they support athletes from so many categories.’
Hardik has helped him a lot in the bowling and batting departments. Reddy remarked on his goals as he believes in getting good chances in the future, and whatever challenges come, he would be well prepared for that.
‘Right now I’m working on this injury and my shoulder. I have a tightness problem. Things are going pretty great at the moment. I’m pretty confident that I might get some good chances as well in the future.’ Nitish Reddy concluded the interview. ‘Whatever challenges I’m going to face, I have to be prepared. I have to show trust in my bowling and batting abilities.’
It will be interesting to see if India goes on to pick him for the upcoming white-ball series in Sri Lanka, which is going to take place at the end of July.