You are just 21. How are you handling the sudden pressure of being with the Indian team and all the eyeballs?
Reddy: To be honest, it was a good feeling. Nerves are there, pressure is there, everything will be there. You will have to handle the nerves and pressure. You know you need to go and perform there. It feels very good when you go out there in front of Indian fans and perform. It feels like you are making your country and your state proud as well. Thankful to the BCCI for the opportunities.
Do you feel you are ready to face Australia, and that too in Australia?
Reddy: I am ready to give my 100…110 per cent for the Indian team. The BCCI has chosen me and I have to respond accordingly. As an all-rounder, I have both the skillsets and I want to give my 110 per cent, whichever way I can help them. I’m a good fielder, I can help in fielding as well. If I’m not playing, I can be the 12th man and carry drinks with all my heart. I can help by taking good catches. If I’m playing, I will be trying to give my maximum effort. It’s a crucial Test series for India. It will be very, very crucial series for me as well.
How do you manage both batting and bowling? It can really take a toll on your body…
Reddy: There was a time when I wanted to leave fast bowling and do off-spin, when I was something like 17. I was completely trying to avoid bowling because I was getting tired a lot, and eventually my batting stats were going down. I was not getting scores and was worried about my batting. I worked a lot on my batting. And then, I spoke with my coach. He said, ‘Nitish, now you are feeling in this way, but in senior age groups or when you play at senior level, when your batting fails you, your bowling will be rescuing you. A fast-bowling all-rounder is very rare and you’ve got that ability. Don’t leave that.’ So, yeah, and at the time, I felt like, ‘Okay, let’s keep on working on what I can do.’ I tried to score at No. 5, No. 6. Eventually, that all-rounder thing came into me.
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You played for India A with the red Kookaburra for the first time. Did you notice any change, as in India we play with the red SG ball?
Reddy: Obviously, the SG and Kookaburra, there is a lot of difference. Because, with SG, it gets rough easily on one side and it is easy to maintain that shine and rough. With the Kookaburra, it doesn’t… I guess it’s because of the pitches or it’s because of the outfield. I don’t know. It doesn’t get old that quickly. And it doesn’t get rough on one side. It gets rough on both sides. We can’t find much swing here apart from the initial stages. If you are bowling first change, second change, you can’t find that much swing here. You can trust that off-the-pitch movement though, like scrambled seam, hitting that scrambled seam. You can trust the bounce as well. You can play with that. That’s what I felt.
What’s your individual goal as a cricketer?
Reddy: My ultimate dream is to become one of the greatest all-rounders. That’s my ultimate goal. Like Ben Stokes, Hardik Pandya, Kapil Dev – in that kind of league.
Also Read: My ultimate dream is to become one of the greatest all-rounders: Nitish Kumar Reddy