Nitish Kumar Reddy: Turning the power mode on with relentless training

Hyderabad: The 57th and 58th deliveries of India innings that flew over ropes for sixes during the second T20I against Bangladesh signified the arrival of Nitish Kumar Reddy as a realistic, long-term all-round option in white-ball formats.

Nitish used his power and reach to smash leg-spinner Rishad Hossain for two successive sixes, but beyond the obvious spectacle of technique, those shots underscored his growing comfort against spin.

In fact, six of his seven sixes in a 34-ball 74 came against spinners — four combined maximums off off-spinners Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mahmudullah and two off Rishad.

Think of it, Nitish might not have even featured in the first eleven but for an injury to Shivam Dube, the designated middle-order spin-basher in T20Is.

But Nitish did, perhaps even bettered, what Dube could have done during a fateful Wednesday night at the Kotla.

The strike-rate of 217 against Bangladesh might give the impression of a natural power-hitter, but Nitish was hardly that in his formative years.

The statement also contradicts Nitish’s records from his annus mirabilis 2017-18 season, when he garnered 1,237 runs in that year’s Vijay Merchant Trophy. It included a quadruple hundred, a triple hundred, and two hundreds.

“We worked on his technique and power-hitting abilities especially against spinners, against whom he, at times, got into awkward positions,” veteran Andhra coach Nirmal Kumar told PTI.

“It was more like a minor tweak than any major correction. We worked on his downswing of the bat and foot placement while facing spinners.

“Of course, there were some training sessions to improve his power, you know, converting those 65–70-meter sixes into 80-plus ones.

“We also made him bat alongside top-order batsmen like Hanuma Vihari at nets, so that he can watch them up close and learn more about footwork, bat swing — two crucial aspects while playing against spin,” Kumar added.

More than those technical aspects, Kumar felt that it was the 21-year-old’s willingness to embrace new challenges that made him a promising cricketer.

“You know, at times, young cricketers can understandably be a little scared when asked to do something new like bat at a different position or bowl during an unfamiliar situation.

“But Nitish is quite different and he just goes out and does what he has been asked to do. It’s a great quality,” he noted.

Nitish showed the same dexterity when he was asked by his state side to take up bowling more seriously.

“We had a couple of all-rounders like KV Shashikanth but, unfortunately, they never really stepped up. So, we asked Nitish to shoulder some more responsibility in bowling and he did so gladly. He is reaping the benefits of it now,” a senior Andhra player told PTI.

He shared the new ball with Arshdeep Singh against Bangladesh and took two for 23 from his full quota of four overs, bagging the wickets of Mahmudullah and Tanzim Sakib.

But there is another angle to Nitish’s emergence. He is an important pawn in the grand scheme of things that head coach Gautam Gambhir is envisioning for Indian cricket.

“Look, Gautam has a very shrewd cricketing brain. His understanding of the game is so deep. For him, stats and stature seldom matter, as he thinks what a particular cricketer can offer to his team, and in that sense, Nitish fits perfectly in to his thought,” said a cricketer who has extensively worked with Gambhir at Kolkata Knight Riders.

It sounds true too as Nitish’s IPL 2024 numbers — 303 runs from 13 matches at a strike-rate of 140 and three wickets – are hardly eye-popping.

“Now, India have two all-rounders in white ball formats, Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube. But both have history with injuries and Gautam does not want to find himself in a position where he is suddenly pressed for a third option. I think he is banking on Nitish to step in here,” he added.

Nitish too is aware of it. “The captain and the coach asked me to bat in the same aggressive way I did in the IPL. I want to give a promise that I can do more than this,” he told the host broadcaster after the Bangladesh match.

It doesn’t seem to be an empty promise either.