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‘I'm Concerned Because…’: Nitish Kumar Reddy’s BGT 2024-25 Selection Baffles Former India Selector

Bhargav Dixit

Nitish Kumar Reddy celebrates maiden T20I half-century. [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/X]Nitish Kumar Reddy celebrates maiden T20I half-century. [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/X]

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All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy earning a maiden Test call-up for Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 has demurred former India wicket-keeper batter and chief selector MSK Prasad. Drawing direct parallels between Reddy and senior all-rounder Hardik Pandya, the 49-year-old considers "pace" as a key difference between the two right-arm pacers who also bat right-handed.

"I suppose because they picked him [Nitish Kumar Reddy] earlier, and gave him a chance. They are sure about his batting and that he can bowl 8-10 overs like Hardik Pandya used to bowl. But he is not Hardik, who bowls at 140. He just bowls at 125 to 130kmph," Prasad said during a recent appearance on Star Sports Network.

Readers must note that India have always been desperate on grooming pace-bowling all-rounders. While Shardul Thakur played that role with a considerable amount of success during the recent overseas tours, he isn’t in the national team’s contention at this point in time.

With no one else even close to the Test squad with regard to this role, Reddy finding a spot in an 18-member squad isn’t surprising by any means. Is he a finished product? Definitely not. Do India need a pace-bowling all-rounder for a five-match Test in Australia? Definitely yes.

Additionally, Reddy has often bowled in the mid-130s and there’s no reason why the speed can’t further go up for the 21-year-old player.

MSK Prasad Worried About Nitish Kumar Reddy’s Red-Ball Experience

Reddy, who scored 90 runs at a strike rate of 180 and picked three wickets at an economy rate of 7.88 and a strike rate of 18 during the recently-concluded three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, is also being accused of getting fast-tracked into the Test squad on the basis of T20 performances.

While it is surely a wrong precedent to set, it is also a well-established one in the day and age of the Indian Premier League. Furthermore, even Pandya made it to the Indian team via the same route.

"I am just a little concerned with his experience in red-ball cricket because he hasn't played the format enough. He did take about 25 wickets in a few of the last domestic seasons, but still, I'm concerned because of the kind of role we gave to Hardik back then after whatever Test cricket he had played," Prasad added.

Reddy has domestic numbers to back his selection

Speaking of 25 wickets, Reddy had emerged as Andhra’s highest wicket-taker during Ranji Trophy 2023-24. Is it worth a mention that a strike rate of 37.68 put him among the top pacers in the country (min. 25 wickets).

Reddy, however, averages just 21.45 across 21 first-class matches as of now. If handed a Test debut down under, he would needless be expected to do much better than that.

As far as Reddy’s red-ball experience is concerned, Prasad had handed a maiden Test call-up to Pandya exactly eight years ago in spite of him picking just 22 wickets across 16 first-class matches. Pandya, who could only add 13 more matches (including 11 Tests) to his first-class career, hasn’t played one since 2018.