Will Nitish Reddy be the next Hardik Pandya for Team India?

After great Kapil Dev, India has struggled to find a genuine pace bowling all-rounder to lend a perfect balance to both the batting and bowling order.

India experimented with many bits and pieces cricketers after Kapil, but nobody was even nearer to the caliber of Kapil. Somehow, Hardik Pandya has done well as a pace bowling all-rounder after Kapil to give some strength to the Indian line up.

However, Hardik has been struggling with injuries so often. He is averse playing in the longer formats of the game. Though India is trying Shivam Dube as a seam bowling all-rounder, his bowling is not as effective as Pandya. Hence, India is in dire need of an effective pace bowling all-rounder to bolster the team line-up.

Under the circumstance, Andhra youngster Nitish Kumar Reddy is the only other prominent fast-bowling all-rounder in the list. IPL 2024 was a breakthrough season for the 21-year-old.

The young all-rounder scored 303 runs and flaunted his bowling skills by picking up 13 wickets in 13 matches for runners-up SunRisers. More than the numbers, it was the learning experience that seems to have given Nitish wings to dream big. He was able to pick the brains of Pat Cummins and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and gained valuable knowledge in the process.

Nitish’s ability to bowl close to 140 kph and bat at any position in the middle-order makes him a rare commodity in Indian cricket. With the emergence of Nitish, India’s search to identify the next Hardik Pandya seems to have ended. The talented youngster should be groomed properly and given the necessary confidence booster to be successful in the international arena.