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Nitish Kumar Reddy politely stopped the India vs Afghanistan pre-match press conference as he had to receive a call from his mother. Kumar was in a media session when the phone rang.
As soon as he found his mother on the other side, he picked up the phone and the Team India star apologized and stopped the press conference to talk to his mother. Nitish Kumar Reddy resumed the press conference and assured his mother that he would call her back.
Nitish Kumar Reddy won the hearts of cricket lovers
It was a heartwarming moment and a must-watch for all the aspiring talents who want to become stars in the future. “Sorry, I have to pick it up,” Reddy politely told reporters before receiving the call. Nitish Kumar Reddy’s gesture was an example of how a child should always treat his/her parents and balance professional and personal life even after becoming one of the leading talents in the game.
After the match, the press can wait but mother’s call cannot come #TeamIndia | #INDvAFG | @IDFCFIRSTBANK | @NKReddy07 pic.twitter.com/23OUBNZvYH
– BCCI (@BCCI) June 13, 2026
It was a memorable game for Nitish Kumar Reddy. In the absence of Hardik Pandya, Reddy is now the only seam bowling all-rounder in the current ODI team. After going wicketless in four matches since his One Day International debut, he took his first wicket against Afghanistan in the fifth ODI of his career yesterday.
Reddy got his first wicket in ODI
For his first ODI wicket, Reddy dismissed centurion Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Fast bowler Nitish Kumar Reddy’s yorker bowled out the Afghanistan opener, who scored the fastest century for Afghanistan and the second fastest century against Team India in this format after former Pakistan star Shahid Afridi.
The Indian all-rounder dismissed Mohammad Nabi for the second wicket. In the rain-prone match in Dharamshala, Nitish Kumar Reddy took two wickets for just 31 runs in his 4-over spell.
India easily defeated Afghanistan by 7 wickets and 13 balls to spare. Batting first, Afghanistan scored 194 runs for 10 wickets with the help of Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s inning of 102 runs in 51 balls.
Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey, the two debutants for India, performed brilliantly with the ball yesterday and both took 3 wickets each.
Shubman Gill praised his bowlers
After the match, Team India captain Shubman Gill praised both the emerging bowlers. The captain was impressed to see that tall fast bowler Gurnoor Brar bowled with control from the start of his first over and spinner Harsh Dubey made a brilliant comeback after giving a costly first over.
“Very impressive, in the front row, the way Gurnoor bowled, great pace and the way he was swinging the ball, the kind of lengths he bowled consistently, and even with Harsh, I think in the first over he gave away 16-17 runs, and the way he pulled the game back, believed in himself and kept bowling the ball up. It was very impressive,” said Shubman Gill.
Nitish Kumar Reddy also improved his bowling. During the IPL 2026 season with Sunrisers Hyderabad, the seamer was showing improved pace throughout the season. With improved speed, Reddy is now capable of delivering 140 kpmh.