AUS vs IND 2024-25: IPL prodigies Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy handed Test caps for Australia challenge

Virat Kohli and Nitish Kumar Reddy. (Photo Source: Disney+Hotstar)

Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy made their Test debut in Perth on November 22. After a stunning performance in the Indian Premier League 2024, Rana soon got into the scheme of things, especially after Gautam Gambhir took over, who mentored him during the cash-rich tournament. However, even though he was in the mix, Rana didn’t make the international debut until Perth, where Ravichandran Ashwin handed him the cap.

The story is slightly different for Reddy. The Visakhapatnam-born cricketer had a very good season in the IPL and soon after that, he was called for the Zimbabwe T20Is. However, due to an injury, the 21-year-old was ruled out much before the series started. He finally made his debut in the T20I series against Bangladesh and even then, the all-rounder wasn’t in the Test scheme of things.

However, Indian team management were eagerly keeping a tab on him, given that the other pace-bowling all-rounders were struggling in domestic cricket. Reddy notably has played 23 first class matches and scored 779 runs and also picked up 56 wickets. He trained with the nets and impressed the team management and now has been considered as the fourth pace bowling option. He was also preferred due to his batting prowess.

Notably, Rana replaced Akash Deep in the pace unit while Reddy got into the playing XI after both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were dropped from the playing XI. Interestingly, Washington Sundar was preferred over the senior duo, especially after a stunning series at home against New Zealand. Interestingly, the off-spinner wasn’t in the scheme of things either, as he didn’t make it to the initial squad for the series against the Kiwis. He was added after the first Test in Bengaluru.

Also Read: Why are Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Shubman Gill not playing first Test?

Talisman Rohit Sharma also missed the opening Test of the series due to paternity leave. KL Rahul replaced him at the top of the order, while Devdutt Padikkal replaced injured Shubman Gill at number three.