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Follow UsIndia took a calculated gamble when they picked 21-year-old Nitish Kumar Reddy in their 18-man squad for the much-awaited five-match Test series against Australia Down Under. Chances are that you know Nitish the player, but do you know about Nitish's journey?
Nitish was already a sensation at the age of 15.
When he was named the best cricketer in the Under-16s category, representing Andhra Pradesh, he was within touching distance of his idol Virat Kohli after a stellar showing in the 2017-18 Vijay Merchant Trophy.
In that tournament, the all-rounder smashed all batting records, with the standout performance being a 441 against Nagaland opening the batting, with his quadruple ton coming off just 345 deliveries. He didn’t end there, tallying up 1237 runs in the season, averaging 176.41.
Not just that, he was also operating with the new ball, where he picked up 26 wickets. To this very date, it is that tournament which has instilled a belief in Nitish that he can don multiple hats in the upcoming series against Australia. His ability to balance both skill-sets is also the biggest reason why India picked him in the BGT squad.
“I am so happy that I got a call-up for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy [BGT]. Everyone dreams of playing for India. Test cricket is not easy, and you need to work hard. I want to just go with the flow and keep making Andhra proud,” said quite a shy and humble Nitish from Australia in a Cricket.com exclusive.
Nitish wouldn’t have been here without his Andhra Pradesh skipper, Hanuma Vihari, who showed a lot of faith in the young all-rounder, throwing him into the deep end at the age of 17 when he made his first-class debut against Kerala in Ongole.
“Yeah, yes, he [Vihari] is a backbone for me. He introduced me to the senior age group first. When I was playing under 16 and 19, he picked me directly for the senior team because he wanted me to know how tough it would be at the higher level so that I would be experienced by the time I got to 20,” Nitish recollected.
While he hardly got an opportunity to showcase himself in his debut year, where he scalped just two wickets, it was viewed as an opportunity to harden the youngster to the pressure of senior cricket. Gradually, over the next three years, Nitish became the mainstay of the Andhra squad, with 28 wickets in 2024, wherein he averaged just 25.2 with the ball.
With the bat, the 21-year-old scored 508 runs, including his first red-ball century, an 186-ball 159 against Bihar in Patna.
“Those times were tough. When I was 17 or 18, playing at the Ranji Trophy level was very tough, but eventually, I felt very easy to play. At least I could counter some of them because if I came to the Ranji Trophy at 21, adjusting would have been a little tough. I already saw that pressure at 17, which helped me adjust my game. Thanks to Vihari, he pushed me a lot and made me who I am today.”
The reality, however, is that Sunrisers Hyderabad boosted his opportunity to represent the national team. Before the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, the franchise took a punt, based mainly on his show in the trials, to pick him in the setup.
“The first year, I was not expecting [an IPL call-up] because I didn't play Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for two years because of some injuries. Exactly before SMAT, I used to get injured. So, I missed out on two seasons. No one will be expecting that any IPL team will get you. But in trials, I got to know that they were interested in me because of how I played in trials. But it was still dicey,” Nitish reflected.
When their season was almost over and dusted, the franchise handed the youngster an opportunity to showcase his skills. If his showing in those two games were to determine his IPL future, then perhaps most franchises wouldn’t have stuck with him, given he went wicketless. But that's were SRH proved to be different.
“I got chances in the last two games [IPL 2023] but didn't get a chance to bat. So, I was thinking that they might release me because, you know, they gave me two chances, but I didn't get a chance to bat there. So I thought they were not impressed.
“But next year, they told me that we were so impressed with you, and we wanted to back you and test your skills with the bat,” he added.
Even when he didn’t get a lot of chances during his debut season at the IPL, it was quite an experience for a 20-year-old who had a rare opportunity to be in the same vicinity as the legendary figures of Dale Steyn [bowling coach] and Brian Lara [head coach].
While neither of them got enough time to work on his technique, Nitish still remembers how a chat with Steyn ultimately turned out to be a ‘stepping stone’ for his future accolades.
“I can't mention how specifically [Dale] Steyn helped me technically. But mentally, yes, he made an impact on me because he is such an experienced player. So, he used to tell me mentally a lot of points that really helped me grow.
“He was saying how mentally tough you should be in the ground rather than your skill set and dedication. You won't go anywhere if you are not tough on the field. In Red-ball cricket, you need to be tough. Opponents are also going to come hard against you in white-ball cricket. You need to have a strong mindset to overcome the pressure,” he adds.
When he did get the opportunity, he carpe diem-ed it with both hands, starting with a stylish introduction against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Hyderabad, where he smashed an eight-ball 14 that acted as a teaser to his talent and potential.
In the aftermath of that knock was what was, in Nitish’s own words, ‘the moment of 2024’, when his dad hugged him after the win. The role that his ‘Naana’ had in shaping his career, right from when he was 13 - when his dad had quit his job to support his son's cricketing career - had come to fruition.
Despite the consistent taunts from the relatives over leaving his job, Nitish’s dad did not pull the plug on a 13-year-old’s cricketing dream.
“Yes, 100%. My dad played a big role in my journey. Without him, I wouldn't be making it here. He worked a lot behind the scenes, but no one knows,” Nitish said.
“I am so thankful that I have a father like him; obviously, my mother is also. She cooks. If I had to leave my home at 5 o'clock, she would wake up at 3.30 and prepare everything. So, those are the days I will never forget in my life. My father and I had an emotional moment when I performed well.
“Every son expects an emotional hug from his father. Most fathers feel like a moment will be there, but for me, that moment was when my father came to me, and happy tears came to my eyes when he hugged me. That was the best moment of this year,” he recalled, with some emotion in his tone.
Cricket-wise, too, that knock against CSK sparked and ignited interest among the people about the 21-year-old, who reverse-hit Jadeja through a vacant third-man region on a slow track to earn applause.
“I got the opportunity against CSK [IPL 2024]. I finished it with six, and everyone started noticing there, but it was against Punjab [Kings] that everyone started noticing my batting,” he insisted.
Rightly so, because when he walked in at 27/2, it was a precarious position for SRH against PBKS in Mullanpur. Over the next 13 overs, the right-hander caused absolute mayhem with how he batted, especially against Harpreet Brar, who was taken to the cleaners. His 37-ball 64 announced him on the biggest stage, and, as they say, the rest is history.
But what you didn’t know, perhaps, was that Nitish was part of the 2023 Emerging Asia Cup tournament, where he played just three games and only got to bowl in that, picking up just two wickets.
“I didn’t get a chance to bat in the 2023 [Emerging] Asia Cup either. I got dropped, and in the next match, everyone got a chance until the last batsman. So, I felt like I was unlucky. I was a bit down, and that’s where Naruto helped me motivate myself. Live games are so important because people notice you. I felt like I was unlucky not to get that opportunity,” he added.
Naruto, Kohli, Australia and the ultimate dream for Nitish
What’s Japanese Manga got to do with a Visakhapatnam-born all-rounder?
Naruto played an active role in motivating a teenager in the depths of the wilderness. The series, which has well over 500 episodes, helped him find motivation through various stages of his cricketing career, including at the gym, when he needed to push himself beyond the limits.
“It's about 500 episodes or something like that. You need to have that patience. But I connected to that character, Naruto, and it greatly boosted me by motivating me. You need to motivate yourself. No other guy is coming to motivate you and push you to your limits,” the Andhra-born said.
“There is this Chakra [seven centres of spiritual power in the human body] thing in that. That's inner energy. So, whenever your energy is drained, you need to push yourself. I used to use that motivation to work out. That helped me a lot at that time.”
The other thing that has kept Nitish highly ‘motivated’ was the pursuit of being in the same dressing room as Kohli. It is something that the now 21-year-old has been calculating and manifesting since he was around 13-14 years old. If not for Kohli, perhaps Nitish wouldn’t have known much about the IPL.
“When I was 13-14 years old, I used to calculate my age and see when I could realistically play alongside Virat [Kohli] bhai. I always checked if I could play with him before he retired. I’m now closer to my dream of playing alongside him. I used to watch the IPL because of Virat. He’s been my biggest motivation for me as a cricketer; I used to watch him since childhood,” he said.
“I just wanted to talk to him, but I didn’t have any questions to ask, and I felt awkward just going and talking to him. That’s when I took my bat and used that as an excuse to talk to him. I got his autograph on it, and I said I’m a huge fan of you, and he said, ‘Oh really? That’s nice.’
“After that, the next year, when we were shaking hands, he remembered me and said, ‘Oh, hi Nitish, how are you?’”
“So, I was shocked that Virat remembered my name because I didn't do that much in the first year and didn't get a chance. Who would think that Virat would remember my name? That was a memorable moment for me.”
Now, he will share the same dressing room as Kohli, with the 21-year-old being ‘tipped as favourite’ to even be in India’s playing XI for the first Test in Perth, where conditions are expected to be pacey and bouncy.
But before he can switch focus on the dream, there still lies a reality check in front of him: the India A tour to Australia, where he will have to impress the selectors to press a case for himself in the playing XI for the Perth Test.
So, how’s he been training for that, considering that the Vishakapatnam-born has never played a red-ball fixture outside India?
“Yeah, in India, there won't be as much bounce as in Australia now. So, you need to put a lot of effort there. Over here in Australia, you need to change your lengths quickly. You need to assess the wicket quickly, and you need to change accordingly. In India, you need to push beyond your limits,” Nitish said.
“It was coming quite a good height. So, we are well prepared for the upcoming India A series. Playing matches and playing in practice are very different. We can only play sidearm over here now because our bowlers are working on their load monitoring. That 6-7 metre length is an ideal spot for a bowler.”
If handed a Test cap, Nitish will be primed to go up against Travis Head, the biggest X-factor player for Australia, in the upcoming BGT. Given the past trauma that the left-hander has dealt to various Indian sides, what is the 21-year-old going to do differently if he gets a chance to bowl to his SRH teammate?
“Yeah, obviously [I have bowled to Head], but there is nothing like a specific plan; I bowl according to my plans, like my strength. I want to back my strength. Let's see who wins. You can't go searching for a weakness in Travis Head.
“So, let's back our strength and bowl according to that, and something will happen. You need to be in that way, playing according to the situation, like how the wicket behaves. Is the slow one good, or is the bouncer good? In that way, you need to think and plan according to the situation,” the all-rounder reckoned.
The underlying motivation remains the same: to be a ‘Future Hokage’, as Nitish has put on his Instagram bio. If you were wondering what a Hokage means, it is a term that means ‘Fire Shadow’ and, in essence, is a term for the strongest ninja in the village of Konohagakure. In a cricketing sense, to be the best all-rounder.
Hence, it is no surprise that Nitish has a large sleeve tattoo on his left arm, with an arrow and the words “Aim High”. What is the 21-year-old’s ultimate aim then in life?
“My aim is always to become the best all-rounder in the world. I will be so happy if I am getting close to becoming one of the greatest all-rounders. That’s why I wrote ‘aim high’. Representing India across formats is everyone’s dream. But the ultimate goal is to become the best all-rounder in the world.”
He might have to conquer the land Down Under to be the best all-rounder. That will not only make his Naana proud but also might go a long way in helping him fulfil his dream of being the “Future Hokage”.
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