New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has reiterated the team’s long-term investment in seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, calling him a ‘quality all-rounder’ whose development remains central to the set-up’s medium-term plans.
Returning to the side after a knee injury cut short his tour of England, Reddy had a limited role in India’s convincing victory over the West Indies by an innings and 140 runs in Ahmedabad – bowling only four overs in the first innings and didn’t get a chance to roll his arm over in the second essay. With India declaring their first innings on 448/5, it also meant that Nitish didn’t get a chance to bat.
Though ten Doeschate indicated that conditions may not favour a seam-heavy setup in New Delhi, especially with bright sunshine expected to wipe off all the moisture developed in the Arun Jaitley Stadium after two days of rain caused by a western disturbance, he was firm in saying that Nitish will be persisted with in the playing eleven.
“It’s a little too early to say on the pitch from our look today. This side in particular looks very dry and very patchy. So we don’t think it’s going to be able to get that necessarily helps seam bowlers, which I don’t think is a big surprise with Delhi. I’d say we are unlikely to change the combination.”
“One of the medium-term objectives is to develop a seam-bowling all-rounder. The group needs to go way up to this. If we have that position covered, we can get a very good chance, as Nitish didn’t get to do much last week. This is something that’s actually a very good opportunity to get Nitish game time and keep the balance in the eleven,” said ten Doeschate in the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
So far, Nitish has played eight Tests, after being fast-tracked for the rare skill sets he possesses, and though ten Doeschate was in praise of him, he also acknowledged the physical demands of the role being a big challenge, and getting ample game time for his long-term sustainability.
“We think he’s a fantastic seam-bowling all-rounder – a batter who bowls seam. I think the biggest limitation to what he’s capable of achieving will be his body. He’s not the first all-rounder we’ve seen in this country, especially in the last two to three years. Let’s be perfectly honest – Hardik is a similar kind of player. We don’t doubt their skills at all, but for their bodies to hold up to play Test cricket is a different matter.”
“Nitish showed everyone in Australia just how good he is as a batter. Again, the challenge for him is going to be to make sure that he gets a game time in between the away series and in series like this, where you look at the combinations, it’s more important to look ahead and see how we can put him in to make sure that he does get game time to try and get some bowling. But the crux is we really like him and we think he’s a quality all-rounder,” he said.
Reddy began his Test cricket career as a number six batter, but being slotted at number eight in Ahmedabad was too low a position for someone who has a Test hundred against his name. Ten Doeschate admitted it was sad for Nitish not to get batting much higher, but felt it’s a reflection of competition in the side for lower-order batting positions.
“The sort of lucky thing for us is that Washi and Jaddu and even Axar are pretty much the same sort of players. I feel like if they’re anywhere, they’re far more attributed. On the most recent event, Washi getting important runs in the UK. Obviously, Jaddu’s form in the last six months has been immense. Unfortunately, that means when Nitish got back into the team after his injury, you can see right at the back why he’s slotted so late in the batting order.”
“Like I said, the only drawback or the only sort of downer from last week was the fact that Nitish didn’t get to complete any of the requirements. But I think it’s also a strong message to the guys at our party that you need to be versatile. You need to be able to bat anywhere from five to eight.”
“We feel that’s a good way to get the players to know that they can perform in different scenarios and in different positions. We’re all disappointed that they’re not batting 6-7, and that means they never get to be in the space they would like to be,” he concluded.
