Former Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane, who recently retired from all forms of the game, has showered praise on the Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who shone with the ball in the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in Delhi.
Notably, Reddy ended the three-game series as the leading wicket-taker with six wickets at an economy of 8.77. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Rahane asserted that Reddy can bowl well with both new and old ball.
“I think he is a bowler who can take a wicket in his first over. He has that skill set, and the ball comes out nicely from his hand. He is a little faster than we expect, and the ball skids off the wicket. A captain has a good option when he has such an all-rounder who can bowl both with new and old ball,” Ajinkya Rahane said on his YouTube channel.
On the other hand, former Indian pacer Mohit Sharma, while speaking on Cricbuzz, asserted that Reddy isn’t a like-for-like replacement for Hardik Pandya, adding that the fans need to keep their expectations low on the young all-rounder.
“We keep taking Hardik Pandya’s name again and again, but Nitish Kumar Reddy cannot match Hardik Pandya, at least for now. What happens because of that is that our expectations will be that Nitish Kumar Reddy will bat and bowl just like Hardik Pandya does,” Mohit Sharma said on Cricbuzz.
“I think that is not fair. We should keep our expectations low. His way of batting is different. He is kind of a batter who can play the big shots once he gets set, rather than hitting a six from the first ball itself. So, if we set our expectations that way, then we are wrong. He should be used according to his talent,” he added.
