Nitish Kumar Reddy, the young Indian all-rounder, received huge laurels from legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar after his batting heroics in the recent Melbourne Test. The fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground saw Australia defeat India by 184 runs and go 2-1 up in the five-Test series.
A good thing about the MCG Test was Nitish Reddy, who scored his maiden Test hundred and led the Indian batting charge in the first innings in MCG.
Not only in the Melbourne Test but also in the entire Test series, Nitish Reddy has been the highest run-getter for multiple innings of the first three Tests. In his debut Test series, Reddy is India’s second-highest run-scorer so far with 294 runs at an average of 49.
Nitish Kumar Reddy better batter than Hardik Pandya: Sunil Gavaskar
Batting largely at seven and eight, he produced several last-man runs to keep India in the game in Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane. In Melbourne, he came in at 221/7 and batted 114 (189) to help India reach 369/10 in a losing cause.
Sunil Gavaskar lauded Nitish Kumar Reddy for his excellent outing in his debut Test series and even called the Hyderabadi a better batter than Hardik Pandya since the Baroda lad no longer plays Tests.
“When India were looking down the barrel, he came through the fire with an outstanding century that has cemented his place in the team for a long time to come. 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 Sportstar.
In the piece, Gavaskar referred to Reddy as one of India’s ‘brightest rising stars’ and praised India’s selectors, led by Ajith Agarkar, for going beyond his first-class numbers.
“The Melbourne Test brought to the fore one of the brightest young stars in Indian cricket, Nitish Kumar Reddy. He came to the attention of Indian cricket fans with his performances for the Hyderabad franchise in the IPL, and while he had not done much at the first-class level, 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,” he added.
Nitish Kumar Reddy will be in action as India takes on Australia in the Sydney Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series from January 3 onwards.
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