Bowling coach in India Morne Morkel chose a young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy as the player to ‘keep an eye on’ for the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. The excitement surrounding the series between the two Test giants was luxurious as the series start in Perth inched closer by the hour. Bye Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and skipper Rohit Sharma having been predicted to play a crucial role in the series, Morkel threw another name into the fray. “Definitely the guy (Nitish) is one to watch in the series,” Morkel said during a press conference in Perth ahead of the first Test on Friday.
The youngster announced himself to the world with a stunning all-round performance in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL).
Playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Nitish scored 303 runs in 13 matches at an average of 33.67. He even took three wickets, but it was his relentless power-hitting that stood out the most.
With just 23 first-class games under his belt, Nitish’s inclusion in the BGT series came as a surprise to many.
It was obvious that the management was hoping to speed up Nitish to develop him into the kind of bowler India desired most.
“He (Nitish Reddy) is one of the young guys. (There are) universal abilities. He will be the guy who can support us, especially in the first couple of days,” Morkel said. “(He is) a wicket-to-wicket bowler. Every team in the world needs an all-rounder who can help the pacers. It will be up to Jasprit (Bumrah) how he uses them,” Morkel added.
If you look at Nitish’s performance in red-ball cricket, he seems a little under-prepared for one of the biggest Test series.
In these 23 matches, Nitish managed to score 779 runs on the board at an average of just 21.05. With the ball, he made a greater impact, scalping 56 scalps at an average of 26.98.
In the recent unofficial Test between India A and Australia A, Nitish did not have a perfect score with 38 being his best score and his only wicket in four innings.
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