The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Indian team management are looking to transform young Nitish Kumar Reddy into an excellent fast bowling all-rounder who can serve the team for a long time.
India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said that Nitish Kumar Reddy is a much-loved player in the Indian cricket circuit, and the popular perception is that he is a quality all-rounder.
I would say our combination is unlikely to change – Ryan ten Doeschate confirms Jasprit Bumrah’s availability for Delhi Test
Team India defeated Team West Indies in the first match of the Test series at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and won by an innings and 140 runs. The next match between the teams is to be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi from October 10.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Ryan ten Doeschate hinted at Jasprit Bumrah’s participation in the second Test and talked about India’s medium-term objective of developing a proper seam-bowling all-rounder. He said:
“I would say we are unlikely to change the combination. One of the medium-term objectives is to develop a seam-bowling all-rounder for India, because when we go on tours it is very important that we cover that position. We did not see Nitish very well last week, so I think this is a very good opportunity to give Nitish another chance and not change the balance of the team.”
Nitish Kumar Reddy was part of the playing eleven in the victory over West Indies in the Ahmedabad Test, but he did not make any contribution to the game. He bowled four overs in West Indies’ first innings and did not bowl in the second innings, while he did not get a chance to bat in India’s only innings. His biggest contribution in the match was the blinder he took to send back Tangerine Chanderpaul.
We believe he is a brilliant seam-bowling all-rounder, a batsman who bowls seam – Ryan ten Doeschate
Ryan ten Doeschate further said that the biggest challenge for Nitish Kumar Reddy is to maintain top-level fitness to handle the Test cricket workload as India look to transform him into a great all-rounder. He elaborated:
“We think he’s a brilliant seam-bowling all-rounder, a batsman who bowls seam. I think the biggest limitation in his range might be his body. He’s not the first all-rounder we’ve seen in this country to which this applies; to be completely honest, Hardik [Pandya]The character of the players is also the same, where we have no doubt about their skills at all, but the durability of their bodies for Test cricket is a different thing.
“Nitish, I think he showed everyone in Australia how good he is as a batsman; I think the challenge for him will be to make sure he gets game time in between overseas series. In a series like this, when you look at the combinations, it’s more important to look ahead and see how we can fit him in to make sure he gets game time and time to develop his bowling. We really like him, we think. He is a quality all-rounder.”
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Ryan ten Doeschate reveals why Nitish Kumar Reddy was kept at No. 8 against West Indies
India’s assistant coach also revealed why Nitish Kumar Reddy was kept at number eight in the batting order against West Indies. He said spin-bowling all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar have been in sensational form with the bat, and since Nitish Kumar Reddy was out of the team due to injury, they were ranked below the in-form players.
“The lucky thing for us is Washi and Jaddu and even Akshar [Patel] These are pretty much the same type of players. We think he can bat anywhere from five to eight, and on the most recent evidence of Washy scoring important runs in the UK, [and] Obviously Jaddu’s form over the last six months has been tremendous, and unfortunately that means when Nitish comes back into the team right after his injury, he sits at the back of that list, and that’s why he bats at number eight,” Ryan ten Doeschate said.
“The only downfall, or the only kind of downfall, from last week in that first Test was that Nitish Kumar Reddy didn’t get a chance to compete in any department, but I think it’s a strong message to the guys who are fighting for that spot that you need to be versatile, you need to be able to bat anywhere from five to eight.”
Overall, Andhra all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy scored 343 runs in eight Test matches for India and took 8 wickets with the ball.
