Border Gavaskar Trophy: How Nitish Kumar Reddy showed off his immense all-round promise during dream Test debut in Perth | Cricket News

Two valuable cameos, a timely wicket, a shared split-screen with Dennis Lillee, a hug with his favourite cricketer, Virat Kohli, and a thunderous victory. Nitish Kumar Reddy lived the perfect Test debut dream in Perth. The hype around him soared, television crews had been squeezing the lanes of his home in Thungalam in the Gajuwaka neighbourhood of Visakhapatnam; friends and former coaches were busy passing on anecdotes and retelling his journey.Seam-bowling all-rounders easily excite India’s cricket consciousness. The horical dearth has fostered the impulse of projecting anyone with a semblance of fast-bowling-batting utility as Kapil Dev’s heir. From Ajit Agarkar and Laxmi Ratan Shukla to Hardik Pandya and Irfan Pathan, cricketers would confess about the crushing burden thrust on their young shoulders. Nitish, thus, should be judged for the man he is, the gifts he possesses, the skills that could be harnessed and polished, and not pushed prematurely into the comparison blackhole.

Don’t stop at 100 kids!@NitishKReddy @FoxCricket pic.twitter.com/V1udXy1PZP
— Mark Howard (@MarkHoward03) November 23, 2024
At 21, he is more of a prospect than a promise, a batsman more than a bowler. His strokeplay embodied the freshness of IPL-age batsmen. He reverse-swept Nathan Lyon, stepped down and cuffed him down the ground, upper cut Pat Cummins, straight-drove Josh Hazlewood and helicoptered Mitchell Marsh. But between these flashy strokes, he showed his robust defensive technique, an attribute that could serve him longer in the game. His movements are minimalic, has quick hands, is comfortable on both feet, waits to judge the length of the ball before committing to the shots, is seldom caught in two minds, adapted smartly to extra bounce, often getting on top of it and riding it. There are rough edges still, but exposure would smoothen them.
As importantly, he was clear about his role when he strode out to the middle with his team reeling at 73/6. A lot of debuting youngsters would have looked to survive, maybe eke out a not out. But he embraced risks, took the bullets for the team, emerged the top-scorer and provided a precious 40-50 run cushion that made a lot of difference in the end. His cameo furnished India an impetus that they carried on with the ball in hand. In the second outing, his task was different, which was to pile the runs quickly when Kohli composed his century. He enacted both functions without fuss. His coach at Andhra Cricket Academy in Kadapa, Srinivas Rao, was not surprised at all. “He is selfless, and would sacrifice anything for his team. He also loved the extra responsibility, and would come to us and ask whether he should do this or that. He is always looking to learn something new,” he says.
Nitish’s bowling is still a portrait in progress. But the signs are there if you observe it. (AP)
It’s how he nurtured his bowling. It was then academy coach and former Services captain Charles David Thomson who advised him to develop his bowling gifts so that he would stand a better chance of progressing to the Andhra team, and later to the Indian team. “He said we (India) have only a few good seam-bowling all-rounders. So, I would stand a better chance to make the team as an all-rounder than as a pure batsman,” he told Sunrisers Hyderabad, the IPL franchise that has retained his services for the next cycle.
Under Rao’s guidance, he sculpted his bowling. Nitish once admitted that he was “chucking” the ball in his early days. But Rao corrected it and packaged him into a more complete bowler. “He had a good natural in-swinger. I just had to refine his action and then we worked on his out-swinger and increasing his pace. I remember him bowling non-stop to polish his variations,” Rao says.
His bowling is still a portrait in progress. But the signs are there if you observe it. He has dexterous wrs, a lovely seam presentation, and bowls with an upright seam position. The release is fluid and the ball doesn’t wobble in the air. The wicket of Mitchell Marsh, Australia’s last brick of resance, owed to the fraction of inward movement that he coaxed from a hardish length. The ball bounced a bit more than Marsh expected, as he slashed the ball back onto his stumps. In the first innings, he dutifully performed the hold-an-end-up stock chores. In less helpful conditions, he would be summoned for longer shifts.

“Like taking a bullet for your country”
🗣️ Nitish Kumar Reddy reveals coach Gambhir’s words that helped him face the fire in Perth #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/THwnG9a91C
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 22, 2024
Last Ranji Trophy season, he bowled an average of 22 overs in a game, on largely arid surfaces to bag 28 wickets at 18.76. On helpful conditions, he could probe fuller lengths and seam the ball both ways. Another coach of his, Nirmal Kumar, vouches for his recovery rate to carry on bowling long spells. “No matter if he bowled or batted, his recovery used to be quick and he never got tired because he always gave prime importance to fitness. Even during breaks Nitish always worked in gyms, and with coaches,” he explains.
The importance of Nitish is that he is not just another seam-bowling all-rounder, but one with deeper gears. He can bat in the top order, in the middle, and down the line-up; can grind, defend, or counterattack. He can take the new ball, come in as first-change or wear the strangle’s role. Nirmal reminds of Nitish’s catching prowess too. “You don’t see fast bowlers doing much slip fielding but Nitish fields at slip not only for pacers but also for spinners. He is not only Andhra’s best batsman or fielder but also the best catcher, he says. An aging slip cordon means that Nitish could add another role to his swelling duty l.
It might be presumptuous to liken him to Kapil or Pandya, but the promise of Nitish is immense and more layers could unfold along with the tour.