Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has questioned the thinking of fast-tracking Nitish Kumar Reddy for the Border-Gavaskar trophy against Australia. While the youngster has impressed in the shortest format of the game, he doesn’t have a lot of red-ball experience.
Before leaving for Australia, Reddy played 21 first-class matches for Andhra Pradesh and he has scored 708 runs at an average of 21.45 and has scalped 55 wickets at an average of 26.01.
Reddy recently made an impressive start to his T20I career against Bangladesh. The right-hander scored 90 runs in three matches against the Tigers and also picked three wickets.
Meanwhile, Reddy returned with scores of 16 and 38 in the second unofficial Test match against Australia A at the MCG, which the hosts won by six wickets. Reddy also went wicketless in the 15 overs he bowled in the match.
“Nitish Kumar Reddy needs to be spoken about because the performance has been very cold in the two matches (between India A and Australia A). In batting, he hasn’t scored runs, and in bowling, he has picked up just one wicket,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“We are thinking of fast-tracking him for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He is that kind of a player, medium pacer, batter, who provides us depth and balance, because we won’t be able to play four pacers in Perth. We want to play four pace options but the fourth cannot be an out-and-out pacer,” Chopra added.
In the opening Test against Australia A, Reddy returned with scores of 0 and 17 and took one wicket. Chopra said they have expectations from the all-rounder but his performances haven’t been promising.
“Shardul used to be there and we had expectations from Hardik. Now we have expectations from Nitish Kumar Reddy but how? That is the big question. The recent performance, which has been seen now, is not very promising,” he said.
“That is why I am saying that we are showing a lot of confidence in Nitish Kumar Reddy, but I really hope it works out, because firstly the first-class experience is limited and secondly, the returns in the two matches in Australia aren’t looking very promising with the bat and also with the ball,” Chopra observed.
The opening Test match between India and Australia will be played at Perth from November 22 onwards.
