“Nitish Kumar Reddy has traits of AB de Villiers”: Ex-England player praises young all-rounder

Nitish Kumar Reddy is going from strength to strength in his international career. When he was drafted into the Test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, a lot of questions were asked with former player Dodda Ganesh slamming the selectors for taking a under-cooked player Down Under.

However, he proved his critics wrong from Day 1 of the series against Australia. He was the team’s highest run-getter in a score of 150 and hasn’t looked back since then. His best innings came in the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The right-hand batter not only crossed the fifty-run mark but also helped India in avoiding a follow-on. Former England player Mark Nicholas compared him to AB de Villiers.

“His trigger movements reminds me of AB de Villiers. The way he goes back and his forward press are similar to legendary AB de Villiers. He used to score his runs with the help of these traits and now Nitish Kumar Reddy is doing the same. Players coming to Australia get intimate by the challenge that lies ahead but in Nitish’s case, he has intimated the Australians.

“I like his courage and ability to back himself. He hasn’t been reluctant to go over the top and take on the legendary Australian bowlers,” Mark Nicholas said on Star Sports.

Ravi Shastri wants the team management to change his batting order from the next Test match. “This is the last time he is batting at the No.7. I am sure he will be promoted in the batting order. Nitish should be batting at No.6 as it will help the team”s combination. You can have your top six batters and then five specialist bowlers. That’s the way forward. I want him to see him among the top six batters from the next game,” Ravi Shastri said.

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