Ex-India Star Backs Nitish Reddy As Preferred Reserve For Hardik Pandya, Urges Management Support: ‘He Had the Potential'

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes Nitish Kumar Reddy should've played the New Zealand ODI series from the start and can be a good backup to Hardik Pandya.

Pathan praised Reddy's performance in the third ODI against New Zealand, saying he showed potential with a fifty and big shots. Reddy's bowling speed (135 kmph) and partnerships impressed Pathan, suggesting India should persist with him to develop a good all-rounder.

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Reddy had a decent outing in the third and final against New Zealand in Indore on Sunday, with the bat he slammed 53 in 57 balls, with two fours and two sixes and stitched an important partnership with Virat Kohli of 88 runs, however, his efforts went in vain as Kiwi's defeated India by 41 runs.

"Nitish Kumar Reddy was a positive. He scored a fifty with the bat, and Reddy played instead of Washington Sundar in Rajkot. I felt he should have played from the first game. The way he batted, Reddy showed he had the potential to play big shots and can rotate strike. Reddy was also involved in good partnerships in both games. Reddy can play those big shots easily, whether it's the pull shot or playing straight. The way Nitish Kumar Reddy bowled, he touched speeds of 135. It's a decent speed, and it shows he has the potential to be Hardik Pandya's backup. Even if Reddy fails, the management should persist with him, and India will eventually get a good all-rounder," Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube Channel.

Reddy broke into India's T20I and Test side in 2024, and finished the year with a century in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG against Australia. He has appeared in 4 ODIs for India, scoring 100 runs at an average of 33.33 with a fifty.

In Test cricket, he has scored 396 runs in 10 matches at an average of 26.40, including a hundred, while with the ball, Reddy has scalped 8 wickets at an economy rate of 4.25.

Coming to the third ODI, New Zealand clinched their first-ever ODI series win in India with a 41-run win over the hosts in the third ODI in Indore. Centuries from Daryl Mitchell (137*) and Glenn Phillips (106) took NZ to 337/8, despite three wickets from Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh.

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An incredible lone warrior century from Virat Kohli and his 99-run stand with lower-order batter Harshit Rana, who scored his maiden ODI fifty, went in vain as New Zealand downed the Men in Blue.