CHENNAI: "With Nitish (Reddy), we keep talking about developing him and getting him game time and then when you do get him game time, he often ends up not doing a heck of a lot in the games." That was India assistant coach, Ryan ten Doeschate, on Nitish after the hosts lost to New Zealand in the second ODI earlier this week.
"For someone who's making their way, particularly with the bat tonight (Wednesday), it was that perfect chance where you're walking in that situation and you've got a chance to spend 15 overs at the wicket. You really have to take those chances to push your case to be selected," the Dutchman went on to say, before adding that India perhaps had a chance at winning if they went with an extra spinner.
Playing only his third ODI, Reddy batted at No 7 in Rajkot, where he scored 20 off 21 before bowling only two overs for 13 runs. For someone who is considered more of a batting all-rounder, Reddy has been in the scheme of things across formats over the last 18 months. More often than not as Hardik Pandya's back-up in white-ball cricket.
In fact, head coach Gautam Gambhir backed Reddy's presence in the squad despite not bowling much during the West Indies Test series. "For me, I think it's not important how many overs he's bowled. It's important that he's gaining experience, gaining experience at home as well. Sometimes you learn a lot just by playing a game of cricket as well. And it's a Test match. And we don't want to use a 23-year-old boy just on tough tours away from home," he had said. Which is why Ten Doeschate's comments on Reddy come as a surprise.
India batter Hanuma Vihari called it 'disappointing.' "It's been a year since he got his Test hundred, but he (Reddy) got limited opportunities in white-ball cricket," Vihari told this daily. "He got four T20Is, which he's done decently well. I know it was against Bangladesh in some of the games but he has played only three ODIs. How can you say that he's not done enough? I don't think anyone can do much only if you bowl two overs. In the 30 possible overs, he bowled seven in ODI cricket. So, it's not fair to judge him this early. For anyone, for an all-rounder to be judged, he should be at least playing 10 to 15 ODIs to actually see where he is, where he is at and if he's not good enough, then send him back to domestic cricket, ask him to prove his worth and come back," the 32-year-old added.
Vihari believes the 22-year-old is the best seam bowling all-rounder in domestic cricket after Pandya. He felt that Reddy's minimal usage with the ball in the home Tests (against South Africa and West Indies) showed the lack of trust from the team management. "If you show trust in him, he'll gain confidence eventually. Only if he bowls in the match, he'll get his confidence. He can't get his confidence in the nets. Giving a fair chance is what I believe in. Not just making him bat at 7 or 8 and then not getting to bowl. So I don't think it's a fair opportunity for him," said Reddy's former Andhra teammate.
Although their next ODI series is over five months away, the question of Reddy being a regular in the playing XI comes with the 2027 World Cup in the picture. With the global event to be played in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, India may not be able to field more than one specialist spinner and will need a back-up all-rounder for Pandya. Vihari feels Reddy is that option.
"If Hardik is fit, then nothing like it. You can't have Nitish and Hardik both in the side with the combination. But if Hardik isn't fit, with the injury concerns he's had over the years, then the best option is Nitish for me. I've seen enough domestic cricket over the years. I've played for 16 years. If you see the reality, there's no one at the level of Hardik. Otherwise, they would have played international cricket by now. But even at the level of Nitish, I don't see anyone. What Nitish brings to the table is he can bat at top 6 easily if he is groomed. And bowling, he can give you 4-5 overs in ODI cricket. I don't think anyone in domestic cricket will be able to do that in international level," Vihari explained.
The ball is clearly in the court of the team management on how they are looking to use the 22-year-old in the long run. Indore may give a glimpse, but only time will tell more.