Nitish Kumar Reddy The last few months have been the talk of the town about the fast bowling all-rounder, who is a rarity in Indian cricket anyway, who is not getting a chance in the playing eleven despite being selected in the team time and again.
The article highlights the lack of communication between the selectors and the team management, which is hampering the formative years of a talented player like Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Nitish Kumar Reddy and India’s selection separated
Case
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel and team management have been under heavy scrutiny for some of their decisions over the past year.
Some of those decisions include appointing Shubman Gill as the captain of India’s Test and ODI team, forcing players to play domestic cricket and giving some players a little more support than others.
Nitish Kumar Reddy is one such player who has been continuously ignored by the team management despite being included in the white ball team.
Discussion
Reddy, who has been a part of the last three ODI series played by India in the absence of Hardik Pandya, has played only a handful of the Men in Blue’s seven matches in this format.
The continued neglect by the NKR captain and coach paints a picture that the selectors and the team management are not on the same page as far as team selection is concerned.
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numbers don’t lie
As far as List A cricket is concerned, if we look at Reddy’s statistics, he has performed well with both bat and ball, the proof of which is 606 runs in 23 innings at an average of 35.64.
Along with this, the fast bowling all-rounder has also taken 21 wickets at an economy of 5.88, which also includes a hat-trick. He is a player on whom the team can rely with both bat and ball.
The fact that he is a very good fielder both in the infield and deep makes him a complete package who can contribute in all three departments of the game.
big question
If the stats are to be believed, Nitish Kumar Reddy should be a name in the team sheet, but the question is, does the team management really want him in the team, or are the selectors forcing him to stick with Reddy?
Experts like Aakash Chopra have been quite vocal about this. Former Indian opener Nitish Kumar appeared disappointed with the team’s attitude towards Reddy.
Aakash Chopra targeted Gambhir
Aakash Chopra didn’t mince words when he criticized head coach Gautam Gambhir over Reddy’s non-selection in the first ODI against New Zealand.
In Chopra’s words, “Nobody should turn on me and say that this team troubled us so much. What if we had lost? Would we have played Nitish Kumar Reddy and lost? Is he such a bad player? If we lost, don’t play him. Then drop him. Don’t pick him. That doesn’t happen.”
decision
The team management will have to decide if they really want Reddy in the team as there is no point in keeping him in the mix and not giving him game time.
If Gill and Gambhir are adamant that Reddy will remain on the bench for the next two matches as well, then it would be better to release him and let him focus on the upcoming games including the IPL.
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