Andhra all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has impressed in his initial outings in international cricket for India. First, he showed that he can hammer the bowlers during the Bangladesh T20Is at home, and now during the BGT 2024 in Australia, he showed he can play the waiting game as well with the bat.
Reddy also contributed with the bat in the first Test in Perth and his 40-odd runs in the first innings of the first Test were instrumental in India reaching a fighting total.
In a chat with BCCI, Reddy reminisced on his childhood, when he would calculate his age to ensure he had enough time to play with Kohli before the great batter retired. Reddy achieved his dream as he received his first Test cap from Kohli ahead of the Perth Test.
Reddy spoke about idolizing Kohli and shared his admiration and excitement about playing with the legend. He also shared some candid photos he had clicked of Virat Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma during a BCCI event.
"This was a safety photo, at the time he (Virat Kohli) was so famous. I felt that if I didn't get a photo chance, let's take a picture now. It reminds me of my childhood dreams. From childhood, I was a huge fan of Virat bhaiya. I used to watch every match of him. I liked his celebration a lot - at that time, I used to calculate my age to see if he doesn't retire when I make my debut for India," Reddy shared in a video by BCCI.
During the Perth Test, Reddy was more focused on Kohli's performance than his own.
"Now playing with him and I was watching him close to ten runs, then five runs and I was thinking, he's close to getting his hundred. Even, I didn't realize that I was close to getting my fifty - it would be my first fifty in Tests if I scored 12 runs. I was so pumped up when he got his 81st hundred and it was a great moment to see," he recalled.
Reddy also opened up about the sacrifices his father made for his cricketing career.
"To be honest, I was not that serious when I was young. My father left his job for me. There has been lots of sacrifice behind my story. One day I saw him crying due to financial problems he had, and it felt like I had to do the hard work. Like, your father made this sacrifice and you are just enjoying cricket by playing it for fun. So that time, I took it seriously and suddenly in one year, I got the growth, did the hard work and it paid off,” he added.
"Everyone said, 'Mutyala Reddy, you made your son go this far'. As a son of a middle-class family, I am so proud that my father is so happy now and I gave my first jersey to him, where I saw happiness on his face and felt immensely proud," Reddy added.
Adjusting to the Indian team environment was initially challenging for Reddy.
"I was a bit nervous at first about how I would interact with players. So, if I have any problems, I just want to go and talk with KL bhai. I somehow feel good vibes from him, whatever suggestions he gives it works for me. He once said, 'Macha, when you go out in the center, everything is going so fast. Don't go so fast, just slow down the game'. It's because my first match went in that way; everything happened so fast in seconds and that really helped me before going out to bat in my debut match," Reddy praised KL Rahul for his guidance.
Reddy aims to contribute to the team in every way possible.
"I feel I do good in three dimensions and want to help the team whatever they want from me, so that's what I want to just focus on," he stated.
Here is the video:
