Bowling to bowl or not?

Cathy Rush3 weeks ago

0 0 2 minutes read

In his newborn career, Nitish Reddy has not done much with the ball in his hand, from which he is a batsman who can bowl a little. But to prevent him from bowling with injury, India will need to see other options.

India’s discovery for a pace bowling all-rounder ended when Nitish Kumar Reddy hit a brilliant century in Melbourne. The youth of Hyderabad stood long against an attack with Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Scott Bolland and Nathan Leone, playing their first series in Australia. And he also bowled medium speed. All good signs with another England tour are below the line in 6 months.

However, those 6 months are not very good for 21 -year -old. 5 Seema Gavaskar Trophy is under underpappable in trials, a clear argument for India and Gautam Gambhir to leave the all -rounder out of XI. While he has the material to make him a game-changing player, his form has left him only in the creation of the India vs England series.

Gautam Gambhir’s Nitish Reddy conandrum

Over the years, India has preferred to do a seam bowling all -rounder in playing XI while visiting England. Stuart Binny, Hardik Pandya and even Shardul Thakur have played that roles for MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in England for years. After the series in Australia, India detected Nitish Kumar Reddy. With 61 wickets in 28 first-class matches, he looked a game-changer for India.

However, Reddy has since fought for the form. In the IPL this season, 21 -year -old has scored just 173 runs in 9 IPL innings. Nitish has fought for the flow and is the shell of the player who has earned a call-up to the Indian team. In addition, he is yet to bowl a delivery this season. Pat Cummins also dropped Reddy from SRH’s XI for his winning game against Delhi’s capitals.

Even in Australia, both Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah did not trust Nitish Reddy with the ball. In 5 trials, 21 -year -old bowled just 44 overs, taking 5 wickets. In comparison, Harshit Rana, who played only 2 Tests, bowled 45 overs. Along with being the key to workload management, Reddy may have to chip with too much overs. When he does not bowl in a match in more than 3 months.

If Nitish is not, then who?

Unfortunately for Gautam Gambhir and the new captain of India, the Indian team is not blessed with options when it gives impetus to bowling all -rounders. Shardul Thakur last played for India in 2023 during a tour of South Africa. The veteran took 35 wickets in 9 Ranji Trophy matches and scored an average of 505 runs at 42.08.

Thakur played four Tests in England, taking 10 wickets. The 33 -year -old has 173 runs with three half -centuries, including one in the World Test Championship final against Australia.

Both Shardul and Nitish Reddy will be in the discussion when Ajit Agrakar -led selection committee decides on the squad for the India vs England series. Whether the selectors see in Reddy see that it remains to be seen as a bowling option. As Gautam Gambhir, his short tenure has seen that he has many options in Shee, a lot like captain and mentor like his KKR days.