Former Indian pacer and analyst Mohit Sharma has shared his views on the Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who scalped six wickets from three games to emerge as the leading wicket-taker in the three-game T20I series against Afghanistan in Delhi.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Mohit warned fans not to get carried away by Reddy’s performances in the T20I series, adding that the young all-rounder is still not at the veteran all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s level.
“We keep taking Hardik Pandya’s name again and again, but Nitish Kumar Reddy cannot match Hardik Pandya, at least for now. What happens because of that is that our expectations will be that Nitish Kumar Reddy will bat and bowl just like Hardik Pandya does. I think that is not fair. We should keep our expectations low. His way of batting is different. He is kind of a batter who can play the big shots once he gets set, rather than hitting a six from the first ball itself. So, if we set our expectations that way, then we are wrong. He should be used according to his talent,” Mohit Sharma said on Cricbuzz.
“Generally, when someone is looking for an all-rounder in the Indian team, they usually go for someone who is 75 percent bowler and 25 percent batter. In the sense that he can score 25-30 runs in 10-15 balls. So, if we stop the comparison and view Nitish Kumar Reddy as Nitish Kumar Reddy, then he has certainly met all expectations,” he added.
Notably, Reddy has been spending a lot of time at the BCCI CoE in Bengaluru due to various injuries. Speaking in the same conversation, the former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif reckoned that injuries haven’t helped Reddy’s case.
“They have recognised Nitish Kumar Reddy’s talent and know they have to groom him. That is the mindset set in place at the moment. But he is unable to play as much as he can because of injuries. He made his Test debut a while ago, so we are backing him. Gautam Gambhir has his eyes on him, but Nitish Kumar Reddy is breaking down on his own. He has never been dropped from the team, he has always been out due to injuries,” Mohammad Kaif said on Cricbuzz.
