India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel praised Nitish Kumar Reddy for showing an upward swing in his bowling improvement graph in the recent past. Reddy recently made a comeback to the Indian team in the T20I series against Afghanistan after recovering from a quadriceps injury.
Reddy bagged a total of six wickets at an average of 13.17 in three matches of the series, finishing as the highest wicket-taker.
The all-rounder returned with figures of 3-25 in his quota of four overs in the third game of the series. The youngster had bagged 3-24 in three overs he bowled in the second T20I after going wicketless in the series opener.
Morkel said Reddy wants to be the player who creates opportunities for the team.
Morne Morkel said in the pre-match press conference, “I think Nitish, if we just rewind to the T20s, the way he bowled in different situations has been very impressive. The message to him all the time is just to keep things simple and do the basics as well as possible. I think he’s a very talented guy when it comes to bat, ball, and field. He always wants to be the guy that creates opportunities. Having that mindset is fantastic.
“We need to give him those opportunities to learn and grow. Luckily, we do have a bit of time now, and it will be great for Indian cricket if we can keep on developing him and for him to compete for that all-rounder spot. He’s got all the talent and all the ability to do that,” the 41-year-old added.
The former South African seamer said India’s preparation for the ODI World Cup 2027 will start with the series against the West Indies.
“You can’t decide a month or a week before the tournament that we’re going to step things up. I think it starts now with this series against the West Indies. Like how to keep the bad ball away, the fields, and how we can put ourselves under pressure. I want them to ask for the balls and create opportunities and not be sort of protecting their own space. I think that will be a great goal for us, if we can develop guys wanting (to bowl) in tough situations.”
The first ODI between India and the West Indies will be played on Sunday.
