Gavaskar lavished high praise on selectors for fast-tracking Nitish Kumar Reddy in India’s Test team. The Andhra all-rounder repaid the faith with an unbeaten 105 from No.8 in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, becoming the third-youngest centurion for India in Australia.

"The Melbourne Test brought to the fore one of the brightest young stars in Indian cricket, Nitish Kumar Reddy. He came to the attention of the Indian cricket fans with his performances for the Hyderabad franchise in the IPL, and while he had not done much at the first-class level, it’s a credit to Ajit Agarkar and his fellow selectors to have seen enough to pitchfork him into the Test arena," Gavaskar wrote in his Sportstar column.

"In his debut Test match in Perth itself, it became evident that here was a cricketer who could read situations and play accordingly. With every subsequent Test match, that impression of a good ‘cricketing head’ on his shoulders began to get stronger and stronger.

With an average of 10.93 in his last 15 innings, Rohit Sharma is no longer in India's best Test XI. @ovshake42 looks at the options in front of him following a dismal tour of Australia - both as captain and batter.

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— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) December 31, 2024

"And in Melbourne, when India were looking down the barrel, he came through the fire with an outstanding century that has cemented his place in the team for a long time to come. Ever since the unavailability of Hardik Pandya for Test cricket, India has been looking for an all-rounder who can bowl medium pace and bat as well. Reddy’s bowling is still a work in progress, but as a batter, he is definitely better than Pandya was around the same time."

Gavaskar: India must also keep an eye on Venkatesh Iyer

The former India captain suggested Iyer's name as another possible pace-bowling all-round option for the five-match Test series in England in their upcoming World Test Championship cycle from June 20.

"India must also keep an eye on Venkatesh Iyer, who can be another fine all-rounder and is a left-hander to bat. His bowling too can do with some work, but he has played in England and can be a very good option to have there," he reckoned.

Having played his maiden County Championship for Lancashire this year, Iyer only managed 116 runs from three matches at an average of 19.33 with the best of 35. He bowled twice conceding four runs per over without any success.

Iyer recently made headlines in the 2025 IPL mega-auction after being bought back by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 23.75 crore, making him the fourth-most expensive buy in the tournament’s history.

So far, he has represented India in nine T20Is and two ODIs and is yet to make his Test debut.

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