Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has claimed that the team has found the perfect replacement for Hardik Pandya in Tests in the form of Nitish Reddy. The all-rounder from Andhra Pradesh, who has been one of the best batters in the ongoing IND vs AUS Test series, slammed his maiden ton at a packed MCG, rescuing India in the 1st innings. Reddy’s knock helped India avoid the follow on, saving the team from Boxing Day blues.
Nitish Reddy better than Hardik Pandya?
In his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar wrote that Nitish was definitely better that what Hardik was at the same time. He pointed out that Reddy had managed to fill in the void created by Pandya’s unavailability to play the longest format of the game. He further noted that it was evident from Nitish’s 1st Test in Perth that he was a cricketer who would play according to the situation and had great cricketing sense.
“Ever since the unavailability of Hardik Pandya for Test cricket, India has been looking for an all-rounder who can bowl medium pace and bat as well. Reddy’s bowling is still a work in progress, but as a batter, he is definitely better than Pandya was around the same time,” Gavaskar wrote.
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| Match | Bat | Bowl |
|---|---|---|
| 4th Test | 114 & 1 | 0/21 & 0/4 |
| 3rd Test | 16 | 1/65 |
| 2nd Test | 42 & 42 | 1/25 & 0/8 |
| 1st Test | 41 & 38* | 0/4 & 1/21 |
Hardik Pandya was once considered India’s primary all-format all-rounder and was an integral part of the Test team. However, injury forced Pandya to avoid red-ball cricket and instead focus just on white-ball formats. Since then, India had not managed to find an apt replacement for Pandya in the Test team. With the arrival of Reddy, that problem seems to have been solved and the youngster is here to stay for a long time.
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