Anil Kumble, Simon Doull dissect Nitish Kumar Reddy’s India call-up for BGT 2024-25. (Source:X/Twitter)
Former Test captain Anil Kumble reckoned that the maturity shown by Nitish Kumar Reddy in pressure situations in white-ball cricket worked in his favour as the Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder got picked in India’s extensive 18-member squad for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad in the dying hours of Friday, October 25, as Nitish received a maiden Test call-up after being one of the travel reserves during the ongoing home series against New Zealand.
While Kumble felt that the decision to pick the seam-bowling all-rounder in the side came as a surprise, he hailed the 21-year-old as a promising talent, given his skills with bat and ball.
“Nitish Kumar is the surprise. He hasn’t played that much first-class cricket or anything to write about in terms of stats. He is a very promising talent. He bowls pace and is a good batter. He has shown the kind of maturity in pressure situations in white-ball cricket. So, perhaps that’s a reason why they’re taking him,” said Kumble while speaking to JioCinema.
They’re looking for a Shardul Thakur with Nitish: Simon Doull
Shardul Thakur played an important role as a seam-bowling all-rounder for India on their previous tour of Australia in 2020-21. He scored a vital half-century in the first innings and bagged seven wickets in the final Test at The Gabba as India won the match to take the series 2-1.
Former New Zealand pacer and veteran commentator Simon Doull feels that India are hoping for similar returns from Nitish this time around as the Asian giants look to keep the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy in their clutches.
“They’re looking for a Shardul Thakur with Nitish Kumar Reddy. That’s kind of what they’re after. That type of performance. And he has got that to offer. That’s something that India, not always missed, but looking for. When you got to Australia, you need someone to bowl 10 to 15 overs in a day and can bat at 7 or 8. That will be an absolute bonus. I like the selection of the squad,” said Doull.
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Nitish has played 21 first-class matches so far and has scored 708 runs and picked up 55 wickets. In his 3 T20Is so far, the 21-year-old has scored 90 runs and picked up 3 wickets. He could have a key role to play in the highly-anticipated tour Down Under, which commences on November 22.