Former Indian batter Robin Uthappa has put his weight behind Nitish Kumar Reddy after the Test series against South Africa. Reddy didn’t play in the opening Test match against the Proteas but could not do much in the second game at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati.
The right-hander returned with scores of 10 and 0 in the second Test. Furthermore, he bowled only 10 overs in the whole game but went wicketless. Reddy was dismissed on a short-pitched delivery in the first innings by Marco Jansen, while Simon Harmer accounted for the all-rounder when he tried to play a reverse sweep on the third ball of his innings.
Uthappa said seam-bowling all-rounders are far and few in Indian cricket and thus Reddy has been backed by the selectors.
Robin Uthappa said on his YouTube Channel, “Yes, there are a few that you can really back with talent. I understand Nitish Kumar Reddy’s selection. He hasn’t really done in first-class cricket, but here comes an all-rounder from India who can bowl fast and bat well as well, and that, in India, comes very few and far in between.
“So, you want to fast-track him and give him the opportunity at the highest level, you want to nurture the talent and see if that can be developed into something over a period of time. A lot like with what was done with Jadeja. He probably wasn’t ready for Test cricket, but Mahi persisted with him,” he added.
Reddy also hardly bowled in the two-match Test series against the West Indies and batted down the order.
On the other hand, former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif said Indian all-rounders like Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy should follow Ravindra Jadeja.
He said on his YouTube Channel, “Washington Sundar has just come in and is already being called an all-rounder. Reddy is being called an all-rounder. Becoming an all-rounder takes a lot of time. First, you must be a specialist. Tell me clearly, is Nitish Reddy a batter or a bowler? Jadeja has set a great example. Copy him. First bowling, bowling, bowling, then he kept improving his batting, gained experience, played long innings in Ranji, and scored runs.”
India will next take on South Africa in a three-match ODI series, starting Sunday.
