Former Indian cricketer and commentator Sunil Gavaskar has showered praise on the Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, terming him a very fine prospect. Notably, his comments came right after the second T20I against Afghanistan in Delhi.
Reddy bowled an excellent spell in the second T20I, and he was adjudged the player of the match for his spell of 3/24 in three overs as Afghanistan posted 159/8 in 20 overs. In the chase, Indian batters crossed the winning line with 31 balls to spare to seal the series 2-0.
Speaking during an interaction on Sony Sports Network, the former Indian captain reckoned that all-rounders like Reddy, Venkatesh Iyer, and Suryansh Shedge need to be encouraged by the management whenever they couldn’t create an impact with the ball.
“Nitish Kumar Reddy is a very fine prospect. When he started in the IPL, he wasn’t much of a bowler then, in that first year before he went to Australia. He was more of a batter. The batting technique was very good. A couple of overs he bowled towards the end of that first season; that’s where he looked as if he could be a very fine all-round cricketer,” Gavaskar said on Sony Sports Network.
“Venkatesh Iyer, Suryansh Shedge – these are all promising all-rounders, and they have to be given the opportunity to develop. Don’t rush them in. Develop them and also, at the same time, encourage them when they don’t have a good match,” he added.
“These are the guys you want to keep an eye on. Help them and encourage them to take their bowling also a little bit seriously because they are primarily in the team as batters. Sometimes when you are in the team primarily as batters, you tend to think as batters. If you start to think a little bit like bowlers, they will be absolutely fantastic, and India then has the options,” he concluded.
Reddy has played only six T20Is so far, racking up 90 runs at an average of 45 and picking up six wickets.
