Nitish Reddy definitely better than Hardik Pandya in Tests: Sunil Gavaskar

Indian batters have failed to perform as a unit so far in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. However, there have been memorable knocks played by talented youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Nitish Kumar Reddy, who have garnered massive praise from experts and fans alike.

After his gritty century in India's first innings of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, Nitish has been the talk of the town. The legendary Sunil Gavaskar lauded the Hyderabad all-rounder for his heroics and described him as one of the "brightest young stars in Indian cricket."

"The Melbourne Test brought to the fore one of the brightest young stars in Indian cricket, Nitish Kumar Reddy. He came to the attention of the Indian cricket fans with his performances for the Hyderabad franchise in the IPL, and while he had not done much at the first-class level, it's a credit to Ajit Agarkar and his fellow selectors to have seen enough to pitchfork him into the Test arena," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

Having made his debut in the first Test in Perth, Nitish impressed with his batting exploits, reaching 40s on three occasions before the exemplary ton.

"In his debut Test match in Perth itself, it became evident that here was a cricketer who could read situations and play accordingly. With every subsequent Test match, that impression of a good 'cricketing head' on his shoulders began to get stronger and stronger," Gavaskar stated.

Also Read: Some people doubted me like a youngster who played IPL, just want to make them feel wrong: Nitish Kumar Reddy

Gavaskar said that India had been on the lookout for a seam-bowling all-rounder in the Test arena after Hardik Pandya made his last appearance in 2018. According to the cricketer-turned-commentator, Nitish needs to work on his bowling but his batting is better in Test matches in comparison to Hardik.

"And in Melbourne, when India were looking down the barrel, he came through the fire with an outstanding century that has cemented his place in the team for a long time to come. 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 said.