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Nitish Reddy received his debut Test cap from Kohli and the duo even stitched a handy partnership in the second innings as India set Australia a mammoth target of 534 runs.
Nitish Reddy receives his debut Test cap from Virat Kohli
The year 2024 has been rewarding for Andhra’s Nitish Reddy. After hogging the limelight in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, the all-rounder made his T20I debut for India against Bangladesh and then made his way into the playing XI for the Perth Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In all likelihood, the 21-year-old will be in the mix for the second Test in Adelaide, starting Friday. Ahead of the day-night affair, Reddy spoke about his cricketing journey and his fandom for Virat Kohli.
To his delight, Reddy received his debut Test cap from Kohli and the duo even stitched a handy partnership in the second innings as India set Australia a mammoth target of 534 runs. Meanwhile, one of Reddy’s pictures went viral on social media in which he sheepishly took a selfie featuring Kohli and his wife, Anushka, in the background, during an award function in 2017.
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Ahead of the second Test, Reddy opened up about that viral photo and said he knew he wouldn’t get an opportunity to click a picture with Kohli so he clicked a selfie for himself.
“If I don’t get a chance to click a photo with him, let’s take a picture. It reminds me of my childhood dreams and everything. I am a huge fan of Virat bhai. I used to watch every match of his, the way he celebrates after scoring 100. At that time, I calculated my age so that he doesn’t retire when I make my India debut,” Reddy told bcci.tv.
Reddy was at the non-striker’s end when Kohli smashed his 30th Test hundred in Perth. The Andhra cricketer said he was so enthused by his idol’s milestone that he didn’t realise that he was just 12 runs away from his maiden Test fifty.
“Now playing with him and I was watching Virat bhai score like, he’s close to 10 runs, he’s close to 5 runs, he’ll be making his 100. Even I didn’t realise that I am close to 50. That will be my first 50 if I score 12 runs. I was so pumped up and celebrating his 81st 100. Like, it’s a great moment for me,” Reddy said.
Reddy’s father has been quite a journeyman who gave up his government job to support his son’s cricketing aspirations. After years of hard work and dedication, when Reddy handed his India jersey to his father, it was a priceless moment for the Reddy family.
“When I gave my first jersey to him and he was like, wow, this is how it feels. I saw happiness in his face and it made me very proud,” Reddy admitted.
The 21-year-old has found a support system in KL Rahul. Whenever he is in doubt, Reddy seeks Rahul’s advice.
“If I have any problem regarding anything, I just want to go and talk to KL. I somehow feel good vibes from him, like whatever suggestion he gives, it works for me. And he said, ‘Machcha, when you’re going to centre, you feel like everything is going so fast. Don’t go so fast, just slow down the game’. Because my first match went in that way. I went there, everything just happened in a few seconds, I didn’t know what to do and everything. So that really helped me,” Reddy said.
As the young all-rounder is gearing up for his first day-night Test match, he isn’t getting too caught up in the colour of the ball. Instead, he looks forward to maintaining his composure and performing well in all three departments.
“Rather than getting caught up in the pink ball, red ball thing in my head, I just want to maintain that calmness and hunger for performance. I personally feel like I do well in the three dimensions and at whatever stage, I have to help the team, whatever they want from me, so that’s what I just want to focus on,” Reddy concluded.
- Location :
Adelaide, Perth
