'Encourage them when they don't have a good match' - Sunil Gavaskar after Nitish kumar Reddy's heroics vs Afghanistan

Reddy's Match-Winning Spell Draws Gavaskar's Endorsement

Nitish Kumar Reddy turned heads in Delhi last night (15 Sep), finishing with 3/24 to help India cruise past Afghanistan by 7 wkts with 31 balls to spare in the 2nd T20I. He ran through Afghanistan's key hitters—Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, and Rashid Khan—and walked away with the Player of the Match award.

The Gavaskar Angle

Sunny G wasn't just praising the bowling—he's making a case for how India should handle young bat-first allrounders. His message to the team management is clear: develop them, don't rush them in, and critically, encourage them when they don't have a good match.

His read on Reddy's trajectory is sharp: he came through the IPL as primarily a batter, the technique was always elite, but it was a couple of late-overs spells in his debut season (post-Australia stint) that hinted at the allrounder underneath. Same story with Venkatesh Iyer and Suryansh Shedge—all high-ceiling prospects who need patience.

G's core insight? These guys are in the XI as batters, so they think as batters. Get them start thinking like bowlers, and you've got a genuine multi-dimensional asset. That's the kind of squad depth India craves.

Context That Matters

This wasn't just a lucky spell. Reddy's return comes after a real setback—a left quadriceps issue flared up after the June 2026 home ODI series vs Afghanistan. The BCCI Centre of Excellence cleared him only after passing fitness tests and match simulations. So this is a player who's been working quietly behind the scenes and delivering when it counted.

Net takeaway: India's got a serious allrounder option brewing, and if the management handles these young guns right, the depth chart just got a lot more interesting.

Source: Crictracker