On the face of it, Nitish Kumar Reddy’s selection in the Test squad looks more guts than brains. Until this April, he was largely unknown – he hadn’t batted in the IPL, neither had he featured in Duleep Trophy or played for India A. All three are the conventional entry routes towards national reckoning, and eventually India selection.
Seven months later, he’s played in all three, and stands at the cusp of a Test debut.
How did he get fast-tracked so rapidly?
To start with, it’s his unique skillset that sets him apart. India are notorious for not finding enough fast-bowling all-rounders. In limited-overs cricket, the likes of Vijay Shankar, Venkatesh Iyer and Shivam Dube have gone in and out, but never been tried in Tests. Hardik Pandya is the current benchmark, but he hasn’t played a Test since September 2018, and is unlikely to do so ever again.
From that time, until last year, India trusted Shardul Thakur to occupy that spot. Now, while Thakur isn’t comparable with Pandya on the batting front, he did develop his skills to become a useful No.8, especially overseas. Since Pandya’s last Test, Thakur played 10 out of 25 overseas Tests, averaging 19 with the bat and 28 with the ball. That included a fifty in Australia and three in England (one in the World Test Championship final).
Read more: Did Rishabh Pant indirectly confirm he's not returning to Delhi Capitals?
Thakur was good in parts, but not entirely reliable: he has the second-lowest batting average for any India No.8 this century (10+ innings). In fact, in the last three years, his average ranks seventh out of ten among all No.8s who have batted at least ten innings. But he seemed to be the best India had, among seamers at least.
His bowling has its own merits, but he isn’t a shoo-in just on the basis of that ability. India’s fast-bowling pool is quite dynamic: from the start of the last Australia tour, they’ve handed debuts to six new fast bowlers. His bowling numbers also wore off since his seven-for in the 2022 Johannesburg Test: in six innings since, he averaged 66.6 with the ball, managing figures of 19-2-101-1 in his latest appearance in the 2023 Centurion Test.
When he underwent an ankle surgery in June, India knew they had to keep a replacement ready for Australia. By then, the ambitious Nitish Reddy had already made waves in the IPL. In his own words, he told Wisden.com that his goal was to be the best all-rounder in the world.
Now, IPL and T20I form cannot dictate Test selection, but India liked what they saw in Nitish. “I understand that they have not played a lot of red-ball cricket, but when you see a talent, you want to try and groom them,” captain Rohit Sharma said of the newer bunch last month, especially Nitish and Harshit Rana, another fast bowler with useful batting abilities.
Does Nitish Kumar Reddy's domestic record stand out?
Nitish’s red-ball CV is undoubtedly limited, but there are signs of promise. With the bat, he’s arguably an upgrade on Thakur, even though his first-class average of 21.05 doesn’t really shout it out. Earlier this year, he cracked a 159 from No.7 in the Ranji Trophy, and followed it with a 77-ball 53 in the next game. It’s the same Nitish who once slammed a 345-ball 441 in India’s U16 competition, even though that level is miles away from playing a Test in Perth.
It’s probably the ease with which Nitish thrived in IPL 2024 that would have really caught the attention of those in charge. You can’t ignore a talent who hit a 37-ball 64 against an attack of Kagiso Rabada, Sam Curran and Arshdeep Singh, and later a 42-ball 76 against Trent Boult, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal & Co. Nitish ended up as the Emerging Player of the Season, and received glowing recommendations from his captain Pat Cummins.
Also read: AUS v IND, Perth Test: What to expect from the pitch at Optus Stadium
It did not take long for India to try him out in T20Is, and he responded with a six-filled 34-ball 74 against Bangladesh in just his second game.
"Nitish and Harshit both obviously are quite talented individuals, and in the future obviously they are going to provide a lot of stability to the team,” Rohit said in October. “So, just want to see what they are capable of, what they have to offer."
The role of a lower-order resistance cannot be understated in Australia: Thakur’s 67 in the 2021 Gabba Test set the tone for an India win; Kevin Sinclair’s fighting 50 from No.8 at the same venue this year played a part in the West Indies’ historic win. Last year, Keshav Maharaj helped them recover from 167-7 with a brave 81-ball 53.
Having slipped to 36-9 on their last tour, and 46 all out at home just last month, India wouldn’t mind playing a usual first-class No.6 down at eight. At home, they had both R Jadeja and R Ashwin, but the balance has to be maintained when they're playing just one spin all-rounder overseas.
With the ball, Nitish lends the team balance of a fourth quick who gets ample movement in the air at about 130-135 clicks. In domestic cricket, Nitish has been seen to move the ball both ways and is also smart with the bouncer. On a pitch that’s supposed to have good bounce and carry, those attributes would be accentuated further. In the Duleep Trophy, he bowled at a probing angle outside the off-stump to left-handers from over the wicket, with the odd surprise bouncer. Against Australia’s lineup heavy with lefties, there could be merit in using Nitish to clog the run-flow.
Hardik Pandya has attained the No.1 ranking for the second time.
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) November 20, 2024
Tilak Varma has also made a huge jump in the T20I batting rankings ✨
READ: https://t.co/xDFg5hpN0i pic.twitter.com/W1XISwfugP
His raw numbers with the ball aren’t all that bad: he averages 27 in 23 first-class games, with two five-wicket hauls. One of those came earlier this year against Mumbai, with his victims including Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer. In fact, in the 2023/24 Ranji Trophy, he took 25 wickets at 18.76 to be Andhra’s leading wicket-taker. At the same time, pitted against other Test hopefuls in the Duleep Trophy in September, he managed just two wickets at 94.5.
The India A v Australia A game would have been the perfect chance for Nitish to showcase his abilities at this level, but a six-ball duck and a 36-ball 17 did not quite do that. He did bowl a couple of quiet spells in the supplementary role he’s likely to play, if he gets into his Test whites.
In all, he can provide additional support to the three main quicks, be a reasonable No.8 ready to get quick runs if needed, and provides the ever-useful benefit of being swift on the field. He’s definitely raw, and hardly carries the numbers that would break selection doors, but for India, he does seem to fit the role they’re looking for. And he’s known to like working under the radar, having attributed his early success to the lack of buzz around him. “A lot of people didn’t know about me [my game]. It was easy for me to counter-attack,” he told Wisden.com early this year.
Days ahead of the first Test, India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir gave Nitish all the backing he needed.
"I think we've picked the best squad who can do the job for us. We all know how incredibly talented Nitish Reddy is and if given an option, he will deliver for us," Gambhir said."And it's also about moving forward. And I feel that the best set of players, what we have selected to do the job for the country”.
Does it make complete sense on paper? Maybe not. But if it pays off, it would be one of India’s great selection punts. And, as seen before, a bit of bravery can be rewarding in Australia.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
