India’s Nitish Kumar Reddy (Photo: Mark Brake/Getty Images) Nitish Kumar Reddy was quickly inserted into the Indian team last year as a key piece in the puzzle of creating a perfect playing XI. Now, the team management seems to be unsure about the seambowling all-rounder’s exact role. Can he really be Hardik Pandya’s backup? For someone who scored a Test hundred in tough conditions at the MCG last year and has an established IPL reputation for moving up the order, Reddy is now relegated to No.8 and is rarely called upon to bowl at key moments in the game. The team management under head coach Gautam Gambhir has insisted that Reddy needs more game time in international cricket, even though he bowled just four overs in the two home Tests against the West Indies this month. He was given the opportunity to bat at No. 5 in the second Test after Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill had already put huge scores on the board. On paper, his abilities provide absolute balance to the team. But he does too little in the park. India going without a run-scorer like Kuldeep Yadav in the first two ODIs in Australia played a major role in India losing the series in Adelaide before reaching Sydney for the third and final ODI on Saturday. The underutilization of Reddy is a bit reminiscent of how Shardul Thakur played two Test matches in England this summer. As captain, Gill shows his distaste for the player with his tactics on the park. Thakur bowled just 27 in the 339 overs that India bowled in Leeds and Manchester. During the second Test against the West Indies in Delhi, Indian assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate admitted that the team management was now wondering if Kuldeep could have played instead in the two matches in England. This raises the question whether the team management and the captain are on the same page when it comes to selecting the XI. Former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta, who has been watching the team closely as an announcer, said, “The first thing to check is whether Gill and Gambhir are on the same page. It could also stem from a lack of conviction. Gill will be more clear about exactly what he wants from his team. He is trying to make Reddy aware,” Dasgupta said. Ever since he took over as head coach, Gambhir has been very candid about his vision of playing a team that has batting depth, even if it means sacrificing a strike bowler. “Modern white-ball cricket requires batting depth. The real problem for India is their usual number 9, 10 and 11, which are typical tailenders. Kuldeep can hold his own as a batsman, but you can’t compare him to the tailenders from SENA countries. Reddy is a batsman who can mix it up. A man with Bumrah’s bats has to be a big bowler around No,” he said. Dasgupta. The team management cannot be blamed for wanting a genuine seam bowling all-rounder in the form of Ben Stokes, Pandya and Cameron Green. However, Reddy is far from a finished product. One may recall that when Pandya’s bowling took a backseat in 2021, the selectors were reluctant to play him as a batsman until he recovered and started playing at full tilt. Bowler Reddy is not good enough for Gill. “I hope they don’t get stuck looking for a Pandya-like backup. They have to be flexible with the options they have. Even if they want to stick with Reddy, he needs to be looked at differently and thrown into the deep end,” reckoned Dasgupta. Gill is very early in his captaincy career. He has found himself in situations where he operates with less than 11 players on the pitch due to a lack of confidence in some players. He got away with it in England, but international cricket is very likely to expose him soon.
