Nitish Kumar Reddy wore India's blue jersey for the first time before the T20I series opener against Bangladesh earlier this month and felt a wave of happiness that prompted him to take a mirror selfie. He later found himself glued to that photo on his phone, reveling in the happiness of realizing a dream he had cherished since he first took up the sport as a child: playing for India. Reddy's exceptional performance of scoring 303 runs in 11 innings and taking three wickets while featuring for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024 earned him the Emerging Player of the Season award. It led to his quick entry into the national team via a call-up for the five T20Is against Zimbabwe in July. But a hernia problem prevented him from participating in the tour, delaying his chance to play for India.
The wait finally culminated ahead of India's first T20I against Bangladesh in Gwalior, where Reddy made his international debut. “At that moment I felt more proud of myself for how far I had come, something I had dreamed of. Now I was finally about to represent India because I knew I would get a chance in the first match.
“I was so excited, and at the same time there was also that nervousness about representing India. But I always believed that whoever handles that pressure well, they are the ones who can continue to play at a higher level. So somehow way it is.” helped me manage that pressure and did well in the series,” Reddy said in an exclusive chat with IANS.
Reddy is currently in Mackay, Australia, as India A prepares for the first of two four-day matches against Australia A starting on Thursday. With his selection in the Indian squad for the crucial Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Reddy is a contender to fulfill India's quest for a capable fast bowling all-rounder in Tests.
“To be honest, I was so excited to play in Australia with the India A side as I would get some more experience of playing on the Australian pitches and conditions before competing in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“When I heard the news that I had been selected for the Indian Test cricket team, I was very happy because it is everyone's dream to play for India in white ball and, more so, in red ball cricket. For me, that dream is now about to become a reality, I want to improve and achieve as much as possible through performances for the Indian team,” he added.
Being in Australia, a favorite location for fast bowlers, Reddy has taken notes on the changes required to succeed in such conditions. “I notice some difference between the fields in India and Australia. The resilience here is a little higher than ours at home, which needs to be adjusted accordingly, and that is exactly what we are trying to do here.
“When I'm bowling, I just enjoy the bounce that comes here and adjust accordingly. Hitting that length of five to six yards is quite good in Australia, because in India you have to hit that length of six yards hitting balls for good length.”
The Indian team management, led by coach Gautam Gambhir, also recognizes Reddy's bowling skills and the reward it can bring. “They also expect some overs from me. They already know how I bat and want me to bowl consistent lengths with the red ball. They didn't specifically mention my role but they wanted me to use my bowling.” skills too,” he said.
Reddy's entry into the limelight started in red-ball cricket when he opened the 2017-18 Vijay Merchant Trophy with a triple century against Tamil Nadu, then hit 190 against Karnataka and then scored a whopping 441 runs off 345 balls against Nagaland. . He received the honor of being the best U-16 cricketer at the 2018 BCCI awards for scoring 1237 runs at an average of 176.41.
While switching from age-group cricket to representing Andhra in first-class cricket, Reddy, a right-handed batsman, switched to a lower-order batsman to focus on using his bowling skills. Assuming the new ball bowling duties for Andhra proved to be successful as he secured 25 wickets, the most by a bowler from his state in the final season of the Ranji Trophy.
Despite his batting average of 21.45 in first-class cricket, Reddy is confident of turning it around with the bat, thanks to his shadow batting routine. “I would say that shadow training is the one thing that changed everything for me. I remember when I was at U14 and U16 I used to do a lot of shadow training because my dad always scolded me for doing it.
“Somehow I left that out and forgot about it halfway through. Two years ago I started shadowing again and it has had a big impact on my cricket. I always want to make sure I get it right do shadow training for at least 30-45 minutes a day because that's the only thing I do mentally before exercising.”
The impact of practicing in the shadows and improving his ability to hit powerful shots while playing for SRH was evident in his 64 runs against Punjab Kings, which helped SRH win by one point. His unbeaten 76 runs against Rajasthan Royals led the side to a two-run win. The most powerful impact, however, came via a breathtaking 74 score against Bangladesh in New Delhi on October 9.
During the powerplay in the match at Arun Jaitley Stadium, India lost captain Suryakumar Yadav, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. Reddy and Rinku Singh planned to rotate the strike and adapt to the situation. However, Reddy bided his time to strike and the opportunity arose when he hit a six off a free due to a no-ball from Mahmudullah.
Reddy's powerful stroke down the leg side helped him score 74 runs in just 34 balls, ultimately securing India's match-winning victory from a challenging position. “I saw that moment come when the spinner came to bowl at that moment and I felt that this was the end to do it. When I took that opportunity, the Bangladesh team went down.
“When that spinner came (Rishad Hossain), I remember I hit two sixes on the ground and they were under pressure again. The first six overs we were under pressure and when I freed my arms at that point, they were under pressure There I saw the fear on their faces and did what I had to do.”
Reddy thoroughly researches what is required of him in terms of batting and bowling for any game, with the help of analysts, regardless of the format. “For batting preparation, I just want to see how they bowl, like googly, off-break or leg-spin, the kind of slower bowls they bowl – off-cutter or back of the arm.”
“I also see the variety there is in it so it wouldn't be surprising for me if I start playing in the middle. From a bowling perspective it's all about planning what you're going to bowl in different situations. -side is a bigger boundary, I can bowl wide-yorkers or wide-slow. I also watch batsmen's videos to see what shots they are strong in and what lengths I can bowl to curb them.
The possibility of Reddy facing Pat Cummins and Travis Head in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy excites him, especially as they were previously associated with the SRH camp, with Cummins as his captain and Head as his teammate.
“I want to experience what it's like playing against them compared to playing with Pat and Travis at SRH. Let's see how it goes and I hope everything goes as we plan.”
Outside of cricket, Reddy enjoys walking the streets with his teammates after dinner and watching films of Telugu film actor Mahesh Babu, of whom he is a big fan. He also likes to play a lot of PUBG with his friends, which he calls a 'stress buster'.
“It's been five to six years since I played this game. Just like when I had a bad or not so happy performance, I actually came to play PUBG and that's quite satisfying and refreshing for me.”
While passionate cricket fans woke up at 4.30 am to watch India's Tests in Australia, a young Reddy started his day at 5 am and prepared to travel 20 km every day to practice at the Visakhapatnam Stadium.
Despite not being able to watch India's Tests in Australia on TV, he was looking forward to catching up with them once he got back home. He fondly remembers every Test India played in Australia as 'so good', especially the intense matchups between the formidable Australian team and the skilled Indian players.
Reddy will face intense scrutiny as he competes under foreign conditions for the first time through the Indian 'A' side, against international players like Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris.
But Reddy's experience of performing in high-pressure situations in the IPL and a previous experience of playing international cricket are expected to give him an advantage as he strives to fulfill another childhood dream – playing Test cricket for India.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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