Nitish Kumar Reddy Is Ready to Silence His Doubters, Just Like He Always Has

Nitish Kumar Reddy is not a stranger to noise – life has forced him to master the art of shutting it out.

India vs Australia: The story of Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.

Photo: BCCI

“Sorry sir, no English, only Telugu,” said Mutyala Reddy. His demure tone did very little to conceal his diffidence.

What it also did not conceal was his palpable excitement. Not that he is a stranger to early mornings, yet, tomorrow promises to be an unparalleled dawn. Unprecedented, too.

His son, Nitish Kumar Reddy, is reportedly on the brink of a monumental achievement – set to don the India Test cap for the first time. Against Australia. In Australia. At just 21 years of age.

Had there been no language barrier, what might he have said?

Would he have spoken about daring to dream in defiance of naysayers? Would he have reflected on enduring ridicule—even from family—when he made the bold choice to sacrifice his own career for his son’s future? Would he have vindictively declared, “My son has proven them all wrong?”

Perhaps not. His nature is unassertive and humble.

But, Nitish? The unpretentious yet undismayed youngster?

About a decade ago, Nitish saw Virat Kohli – one of his idols – scored four centuries in Australia, and harboured a dream to replicate something of similar nature.

Those centuries, though, were not all that he saw.

He witnessed his father endure scorn and scepticism for resigning from his stable government job at Hindustan Zinc to ensure Nitish could pursue his cricketing aspirations in Andhra Pradesh.

In a conversation with The Quint ahead of the first Test, he recollects:

My father had a government job, but he resigned for my career. He was transferred to Udaipur in Rajasthan, but decided to quit just so that I can continue my career in my hometown.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

Letting go of the solitary emolument, in itself, is a rare occurrence. Mutyala Reddy went above and beyond, as Nitish says:

My training ground was 25 kilometres away from my house. He would drive me there every day, wait till practice was done and then bring me back home. Practice was usually three hours, and he used to stand for the entire duration. He also spoke with the coaches. When parents want their kids to get noticed, they often do things like bring lunch and tea for the coaches. My father was not that sort of a person at all, but still, he did that for me. Those are the days I will never forget.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

The Canon Event

Albeit Nitish first picked up a bat at the age of five, it wasn’t until 10 years ago that he experienced what Gen Z might call his ‘canon event’ — a defining, life-altering moment.

I was about 11 or 12 at the time. My father was respected by my relatives because of his government job, it was a big thing. But when he resigned, they stopped respecting him, and instead, starting blaming him. They did not trust me to make it big, but my father always did. He was confident that I will prove everyone wrong.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

He continues:

One day, I saw my parents crying. Our financial situation was not good, and relatives taunted my father because he was jobless. His own family turned up against him. Till then, I was playing cricket just for fun. But seeing my father in that state, I realised that I had to do something. I understood that my parents had left everything for me, and all of my family’s hopes were on me. I knew I had to start taking cricket seriously, otherwise, those so-called relatives would blame my father for the rest of his life.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

As has every child of working-class parents who shone brightly in this country, Nitish has seen, and experienced, his relatives’ tonality change recently.

Now that I am successful, all of my relatives are calling my father and saying he did the right thing by believing in me. But I know that back then, none of them supported me or my father.

Mental Transformation Was Followed by Technical Refinements

Having had a pivotal mental transformation at 12, a couple of technical switches also facilitated Nitish’s growth during his formative years – learning the art of outswingers and finishing.

I started bowling in the U-14 level. Back then, I was more interested in swing than pace. I remember I only used to bowl inswingers, but a coach told me I needed to learn how to bowl outswingers. So I learnt that and it was going well, but it got difficult during my U-16 days. Bowling 20 overs and then immediately going to bat as an opener was exhausting. That was when a mentor told me that competition for the opening slot was huge in the Indian team, so to knock on the Indian team’s doors, I needed to bat at number 6-7 and learn how to play the second new ball and counter reverse-swing. That’s how it all started.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

Another technical refinement eventuated following the conclusion of IPL 2023. Nitish played only a couple of matches for SunRisers Hyderabad, and did not face a single delivery. But what he faced in the nets was enough to be cognisant of his lack of preparation.

In my first IPL season, I saw the level and realised I lacked preparation. In Andhra, you don’t get to face bowlers to bowl 140-145kmph. So I took the help of sidearm specialists to practice batting against 150kmph deliveries. To be honest, it was so difficult at first. I was getting hit on my helmet, thigh, everywhere! But I told myself not to be fearful and to keep my intent the same. I continued facing those deliveries, and after a month, I was timing the ball well. After three months, I was finding it very easy to face the 130kmph bowlers. Another thing that I do is irrespective of my training schedule, I go to the gym every evening and do shadow practice in front of the mirror. That has helped me a lot with my downswing.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

The Zimbabwe Setback & the Bangladesh Comeback

Nitish made his debut for India in October, during the T20I series against Bangladesh. However, this milestone could have come three months earlier, during the Zimbabwe tour in July, if not for an untimely injury.

The first call-up I got was for the Zimbabwe tour. I was so excited, but at the same time, I was nursing an issue. The scan reports came a day later and it said that I would need to take rest for 30 days and focus on my rehab. I was very disappointed, because obviously, getting the maiden call-up means everything, but unfortunately, I was injured. My father was also disappointed. He did not let me know, but I could sense it.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

A trainer at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) had a crucial role to play in the all-rounder’s remarkable return.

One of my trainers in the NCA told me that it was not the time to be disappointed, but time to focus on rehab. He said it was my first call-up, but it will not be my last. I kept working hard, and suddenly one day, I got the call that I had been selected for the Bangladesh tour. I called my father, he was so happy that he started tearing up.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

Role Clarity From Gautam Gambhir Is Helping Nitish Thrive

The three-match T20I affair against Bangladesh saw Nitish scoring 90 runs at an average of 45 and a strike rate of 180, alongside the three wickets that he scalped at an average of 23.66.

He attributes much of his success to head coach Gautam Gambhir, with two specific instances highlighting the latter’s importance.

Gambhir sir has helped me a lot. In the nets, I was bowling a lot of slower deliveries. I was mixing my pace. But Gambhir sir told me that when I am bowling, I need to think of myself as a bowler, not an all-rounder. I used to think of myself as a third seamer, but he told me to think like a new-ball bowler and start bowling yorkers and bouncers. It was very impactful. He changed my entire mindset.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

The second incident is from the second T20I, wherein Nitish struck a 34-ball 74.

There is another incident I want to mention. In the second T20I, I played a reverse sweep and the umpire gave it not out. Bangladesh reviewed and it was umpire’s call. Then Gambhir sir came to me during the drinks break and told me ‘Nitish, I know you play a lot of reverse sweeps, I have seen in the IPL. But this is not the wicket for that. You can’t trust the bounce here. You have good power, so just trust your hitting ability.’ So I trusted my power hitting, and you know the rest.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

A Test debut, for any cricketer, is certain to be a trepidatious affair. More so, if the player is all of 21, and the debut is coming at Perth.

Nitish, though, knows what the team wants from him.

Gambhir sir said he wants a bit of consistency from me in BGT. He knows I am an aggressive batter, so he told me to bat the way I usually do. About my bowling, he has asked me to keep hitting the right areas whenever I am asked to bowl.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

He is ready. Australia is certain to be noisy. But Nitish – he knows how to shut the noise.