Indore: Nitish Reddy had been rather quiet since December 2024, since that special afternoon at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when he did something no India Test No.8 had done in Australia. A maiden Test century in conditions that unsettle even established batters. It was the sort of innings that announces a newcomer and indicates to the selectors and team management that there was potential worth investing in.
That promise in the red-ball format opened the doors in white-ball cricket. India, perennially short of genuine pace-bowling allrounders, are constantly scanning the horizon for such talent. And they saw Reddy as one who can fill the void. With Hardik Pandya’s availability often dictated by injury cycles, even a hint of balance — someone who can bat and bowl a few overs at pace — is enough to become a long-term project. Reddy fit the brief. Right now, Harshit Rana too seems to have.
But potential, as India found out in Rajkot, needs conversion and results. In the second ODI, Reddy bowled just two overs (0/13) and scored 20. It was without impact and India’s defeat brought uncomfortable questions. Were they getting enough out of him, and then, did they not have enough faith in him?
What followed though was a critique of the inconsistency and a warning.
“When he gets game time, he often ends up not getting a heck of a lot in the game,” assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said after the Rajkot game. “For someone who’s making their way, particularly with the bat, tonight was the perfect chance…You really have to take those chances to push your case to be selected.”
This wasn’t just about one innings anymore. Reddy knew he needed to level up.
Coming into Indore, Reddy’s place was up for debate. Yet, his intensity in the lead-up practice session suggested he hadn’t entirely gone off the management’s radar. There was still belief, even if the clock was ticking.
Sunday offered him another opening. In fact, a far bigger one. India promoted Reddy ahead of Ravindra Jadeja. It was a move that signalled trust but also threw him a challenge. Sent into the deep end and asked not just to survive but shape the innings.
If there was ever a moment to make the conversation around his selection irrelevant, this was it. And for a while, it looked like he was doing exactly that.
India were wobbling at 68/3 in 11.2 overs. Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul were all out and Virat Kohli needed someone at the other end. Kohli was immaculate, unhurried but even he needed oxygen. Or, simply a partner to stay put.
Kohli, Reddy stand
It seemed like he found an able ally in Reddy. And Reddy couldn’t have asked for a better guide. Until the 25th over, India had managed just one six – Kohli off Zakary Foulkes early in the innings. Reddy changed that tempo.
He went after Foulkes and Glenn Phillips, striking two sixes in two overs, loosening the grip New Zealand had on the middle phase. The promise and confidence seemed to resurface. His first ODI fifty arrived not with frenzy, but with authority. The familiar Pushpa celebration was back.
Earlier, there was a feeling he wasn’t being given enough time in the middle. On Sunday, he had bowled eight overs and then was central to what was shaping up as a rescue act.
Then came the moment when it came crashing down. The very next over after his fifty, he tried to pull a back-of-a-length delivery from Kristian Clarke, mistimed and found Will Young at short midwicket.
The 88-run partnership ended just when India needed it to kick on. Reddy stood distraught, aware of what he had just missed out on. He looked skyward before walking back.
Now, this wasn’t a failure per se. But it was perhaps something more painful. A near miss. As India continue to look for durable pace-bowling all-rounders, Reddy will remain in the conversation. But conversations move fast in Indian cricket.
