Nitish Kumar Reddy could bat at number 6 for India consistently: Irfan Pathan

Nitish Kumar Reddy impressed the cricket fraternity with his excellent performance during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The seam-bowling all-rounder scored 298 runs from nine innings at an average of 37.25. He also chipped in with five wickets at an average of 38. The standout moment on his debut Test tour was his gutsy century at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in the Boxing Day Test.

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, who also received his maiden international cap in Australia in 2003, said that it is not easy for a batter to make his debut Down Under. Nitish batted at No. 7 in some innings and at No. 8 in others. However, Pathan feels that the Visakhapatnam-born has the potential to bat for India at No. 6 consistently.

"You have got an excellent prospect. It's not easy at all for any batter to make his debut in Australia. We might show his century, but he was batting very well before that, he was reaching the 40-run mark regularly," Irfan told Star Sports.

"However, when he scored a century, all of us started to feel that we got a player who could bat not at No. 8 or No. 7 but at No. 6. If he can consistently bat at No. 6, I feel he has that potential, India have got a terrific player, who can solve the combination to a large extent," he added.

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Nitish has had a fine start to his international career. He made his debut against Bangladesh in a T20I series at home in October. He scored a swashbuckling 74 off 34 balls in the second T20I in Delhi, belting four boundaries and seven sixes.

India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by a 1-3 margin. Their next assignment is a white-ball series at home against England. The two cricketing powerhouses will lock horns in a five-match T20I series followed by three ODIs. The series gets underway on Wednesday, January 22, as the two teams collide in the first T20I at the historic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.