"First person who believed in me was my father": Nitish Kumar Reddy on his father's sacrifices

All-rounder, who scored a gritty 114 v Australia at the MCG, reveals how he helped India post big total and showcase his temperament to those doubting his Test credentials

Nitish Reddy wanted to confute his critics and the naysayers who doubted his ability to excel in Test format, and the gritty century at the iconic MCG was his way of conveying that he belongs to highest level of cricket. A few former players, including a former chairman of selectors, were sceptical about Reddy’s elevation as a Test player but with 293 runs in six innings and a batting average of 58-plus, he has answered them back in a befitting manner.

Reddy’s 114 formed the cornerstone of India’s first innings score of 369 and attracted a lot of attention on the young batter. Did you ever feel that you will be highest scorer in this team?  “Some people doubted me, like a youngster who played IPL, can’t perform in such a big series. I know a lot of people did talk like that,” Reddy said, sharing his frustration after the end of fourth day’s play.

100 per cent devotion 

“I just want to make them feel wrong about what they have said about me and that’s what I am doing, I want people to know that I am here to give my 100 per cent for Indian team,” Reddy, 21, said. Asked how he looks at the past one month during which his life changed, he was quick to reply: “I guess for you guys, it is like one or two months. For me, it’s like, I can see my past two to three years. How hard I’ve been working on my batting and bowling.”

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A lot of people don’t know that Reddy had hired side-arm throwdown experts before the start of 2024 IPL and practised against them with speed of deliveries cranking up to 145 clicks from around 18 yards. “After the first IPL season, I realised what I have to improve my batting and I came up with a plan. When I got the off-season, I worked a lot on my batting and that’s what is giving results now.” The sacrifices made by his family is well documented and the Australian media was also keen to know about the man behind the player and the role of his father Mutyalu.

Family’s sacrifice

“To be honest, my father had 25 years of service in central government and when I was a nobody, and hadn’t played a state-level game, the first person who believed in me was my father,” he was a touch emotional.

‘Roar by MCG crowd after Reddy’s hundred is something I never heard’

Nick Hockley

The collective roar of Indian fans after Nitish Kumar Reddy’s maiden hundred is something that he has never heard at the MCG, and Cricket Australia’s outgoing CEO Nick Hockley said that it validated the decision to add a Test to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. “I want to say thank you to everyone who turned up, the atmosphere last night when Reddy scored his hundred, the roar of the crowd was nothing that I have ever heard,” Hockley said. The CA’s decision to increase the number of Tests for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy from four to five has proved to be a masterstroke as crowd attendance and viewership records are set to surpass the hallowed Ashes.

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