India National Cricket Team will be up against the West Indies in a full-white-ball series. The BCCI selection committee had to make a last-minute change to their <a href="https://cricket.international/aliya-riaz-faces-trolling-after-poor-fielding-for-pakistan-in-asian-games/" title="Aliya Riaz faces trolling after poor fielding for Pakistan in <a href="https://cricket.international/shafali-verma-hits-historic-t20i-ton-as-india-women-crush-bangladesh-by-114-runs-in-asian-games-semi-final/" title="Shafali Verma Hits Historic T20I Ton as India Women Crush Bangladesh by 114 Runs in Asian Games Semi-Final”>Asian Games“>Asian Games 2026 squad as they pulled out Nitish Kumar Reddy from the squad to add him to the ODI squad. Former India pacer Mohit Sharma commented on Nitish Reddy’s comparison with Hardik Pandya.
Nitish Kumar Reddy was excellent in the recently concluded series against Afghanistan. He returned from a long injury and delivered a good performance with the ball for the Men in Blue at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Some former cricketers felt that he could be a good backup option for Hardik Pandya, who has recently been out of action due to injury.
“Nitish Kumar Reddy cannot match Hardik Pandya”: Mohit Sharma on Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy comparison
While speaking on Cricbuzz, former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pacer Mohit Sharma stated that it is not correct to compare Hardik Pandya with Nitish Kumar Reddy. He believes that Nitish Reddy cannot match the level of Hardik Pandya despite the former’s recent performances against the Afghans.
“We keep taking Hardik Pandya’s name again and again, but Nitish Kumar Reddy cannot match Hardik Pandya, at least for now. What happens because of that is that our expectations will be that Nitish Kumar Reddy will bat and bowl just like Hardik Pandya does,” Sharma said on Cricbuzz.
“We should keep our expectations low”: Mohit Sharma tells to keep low expectations on Nitish Kumar Reddy
Mohit Sharma further explained the matter, saying that it is not fair to have a comparison between Hardik and Nitish, and everyone should keep their expectations low. Sharma revealed that Hardik has been a match winner and can play shots from the very first ball; on the other hand, Nitish is different; he plays shots once he gets set in.
Mohit said: “I think that is not fair. We should keep our expectations low. His way of batting is different. He is kind of a batter who can play the big shots once he gets set, rather than hitting a six from the first ball itself. So, if we set our expectations that way, then we are wrong. He should be used according to his talent.”
Why Hardik Pandya add more balance to the India squad?
Hardik Pandya has been a match-winner for India over years now in the white-ball format. He has produced some amazing performances across ODIs and T20Is with bat and ball. He has provided the balance that the Men in Blue need in their white-ball squad. After he was ruled out in 2023, India could not find their balance and thus lost in the final.
Nitish Reddy, on the other hand, has started to develop as a cricketer and has been better at batting than bowling. He needs to work a lot more on his bowling skills to reach Pandya’s level, as the latter has delivered match-winning spells in major tournaments and in crucial times as well. The Hyderabad all-rounder would need to showcase his skills in West Indies ODIs.
“He is a bowler who can take a wicket in his first over”: Ajinkya Rahane on Nitish Reddy’s skill set
Apart from Mohit Sharma, former India captain Ajinkya Rahane praised the bowling of Nitish Reddy in the Afghanistan series. Rahane believes that the 23-year-old can pick wickets in the very first over as he has the skill to do it.
“I think he is a bowler who can take a wicket in his first over. He has that skill set, and the ball comes out nicely from his hand. He is a little faster than we expect, and the ball skids off the wicket. A captain has a good option when he has such an all-rounder who can bowl both with new and old ball,” observed Rahane on his YouTube channel.
Source: cricketaddictor.com
