BGT 2024-25: I was so pumped up when Virat Kohli got his 81st hundred, says Nitish Kumar Reddy

New Delhi, Dec 5: All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy had a memorable Test debut when his knocks of 41 and 38 not out, along with picking a scalp, was one of the driving forces in youngsters’ playing a vital hand in the 295-run win over Australia at Perth.

Reddy got his debut cap from his idol Virat Kohli and was at the crease when he saw him hit an unbeaten century in the second innings. He recalled of the time when he took a selfie afar from Kohli and Anushka Sharma during 2018 BCCI awards to making his Test debut in the playing eleven alongside the talismanic batter.

"This was a safety photo, at the time he (Virat Kohli) was so famous. I felt that if I don't get a photo chance, let's take a picture now. It’s reminding me of my childhood memories. From childhood, I was a huge fan of Virat bhaiya. I used to watch every match of his, so that he scores a hundred and celebrates it. I liked his celebration a lot – at that time, I used to calculate my age so as to see if he doesn't retire when I make my debut for India."

“Now playing with him and I was seeing him close to ten runs, then five runs and I was thinking, he’s close to getting his hundred. Even, I didn’t realise 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,” said Reddy in a video posted on bcci.tv.

Reddy, who made his T20I debut in October, further took a trip down the memory lane, and recalled of the sacrifice his father made by leaving his government job to focus on his cricketing career in Visakhapatnam. “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 in 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 did 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.”

“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 in his face and felt immensely proud,” he elaborated.

He also said advice from KL Rahul worked well on his debut in Perth. “I was a bit nervous at first on how I will interact with players, who I have seen on TV while growing up. So, if I have any problems, I just want to go & talk with KL bhai. I somehow feel good vibes from him, whatever suggestions he gives that works for me.”

“He once said, ‘Macha, when you go out in the centre, 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 spoke about his fondness for shadow practising ahead of playing games. “I do like doing a lot of shadow practising. At that time, I visualise bowlers who are going to bowl to me and what all shots I can play to them as per the situation. When you actually face them in the centre, it will be like ‘Arey, you already practiced against them in shadow practice’. So, that’s how I keep my routine simple.”

Ahead of the second game starting in Adelaide on Friday, Reddy signed off by expressing excitement on playing Test cricket against pink ball, of which he got a taste by making 42 in the tour match against Prime Minister’s XI at the Manuka Oval.

“I am so excited, I had a good debut and I just want to continue my contribution to the team. With the pink ball, I want to see how much swing I can get as a fast-bowler. When I faced the first ball (in the practice match), I left it and saw how it behaved.”

“I just want to maintain my hunger for good performances. I personally 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.”