Nitish Reddy a guy to keep an eye on this series - Morne Morkel
In the clearest hint yet about the possibility of Nitish Reddy's Test debut in Perth, India's bowling coach Morne Morkel heaped praise on the 21-year-old and reckoned he can 'hold one end up' for India during the five Tests in Australia.
The all-rounder from Andhra has made rapid strides in 2024, starting with an eye-catching IPL season and his T20I bow soon after. He has just 23 first-class games to his name but gives the team the profile of a player (seam-bowling allrounder) they've always wanted on overseas tours.
Nitish played in both the A games in Mackay and Melbourne, forging two solid partnerships with Dhruv Jurel in the second fixtures. He also bowled 31 overs across four innings, conceding runs at under three-an-over in three of them.
"[Nitish Reddy] is one of the young guys that we've mentioned. He's got that batting [and] all-round ability. He'll be a guy that can sort of hold that one end up for us. He hits the bat a little bit harder than you think. So on these sort of conditions where there might be a little bit of seam movement up front, especially the first couple of days, he'll be a handy bowler. He's very accurate, a wicket-to-wicket style of bowler. It's a lovely opportunity for him to fill that allrounder spot."
"Any team in the world always wanted the allrounder to take that load off your fast bowlers, just to give them an extra bit of breathing time. So how we use him, how Jasprit is going to use him, with maybe the spinner, to give himself, whoever's going to be the other quicks, time to catch their breath a little bit is going to be important. He's definitely a guy that is a player you can keep your eye on in this series."
As far as keeping tabs goes, Indian management have also got their eyes on Mohammed Shami, who has made a strong comeback in a domestic game. He picked seven wickets across two innings in the Ranji game for Bengal against Madhya Pradesh in his first competitive match back in action after a year of being sidelined with injury. He bowled a total 43.2 overs in the fixture and came away unscathed. Cricbuzz had @L0$ that the team management is in no rush to send Shami to Australia. Interestingly, the 34-year-old has been picked in Bengal's squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which will take place from November 23 to December 15.
"We are keeping a close eye on Shami. He has been out for a year. For us, it is a massive win that he is back playing. How can we give him the best support to find his feet again? [We're] Working closely with the people back home. He is a world-class bowler," Morkel said.
Morkel also remained hopeful about Shubman Gill recovering in time for the series opener. The top-order batter had suffered a hairline fracture to his left thumb while taking a catch in the slip cordon during India's match simulation at the WACA in Perth on November 16. That injury was anticipated to rule him out of the first Test but Morkel reported improvement. India have also got Devdutt Padikkal @L1$ after featuring for India A, as a top-order back-up.
"Shubman [Gill] is improving on a day-by-day basis. We will take a call on the morning of the Test. He played well in the match simulation during the build-up, so fingers crossed," Morkel said.