"I used to calculate my age so that he doesn’t retire when I make my debut" - Nitish Reddy reveals interesting story ahead of 2nd BGT 2024-25 Test
Young all-rounder Nitish Reddy recently shared an interesting anecdote about his idol Virat Kohli. He revealed that he used to calculate his age so that the latter wouldn't retire before his debut. The comments came ahead of the second Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Test, slated to be played in Adelaide, starting on Friday, December 6.
Reddy, who grabbed eyeballs during the last edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), made his Test debut in the previous Test in Perth against Australia. He received the Test cap from Kohli and had an excellent debut with the bat.
The Andhra cricketer recently shared a story of him going from taking a selfie with Kohli at the BCCI awards function to sharing the dressing room with him.
"This was a safety photo, at the time he (Virat Kohli) was so famous," Reddy said in a video shared by bcci.tv. "I felt that if I don't get a photo chance, let's take a picture now. It reminds me of my childhood memories."
"From childhood, I was a huge fan of Virat bhaiya. I used to watch every match of his, so that he scores a hundred and celebrates it. I liked his celebration a lot – at that time, I used to calculate my age so as to see if he doesn't retire when I make my debut for India," he added.
Nitish Reddy scored 79 runs across both innings in the first Test and took one wicket.
"I was so pumped up when he got his 81st hundred" - Nitish Reddy on watching Virat reach his 81st hundred
Nitish Reddy had the best seat as he watched Virat Kohli get to his 81st international hundred from the other end. The Delhi-born cricketer remained unbeaten on 100 off 143 balls. He helped the visiting side post a mammoth 534-run target for the Aussies to chase in the fourth innings.
Throwing light on how he felt to see Kohli go about his business, the youngster reiterated that it was a great moment for him. He added that he almost forgot that he was himself inching closer to his first Test half-century.
"Now playing with him and I was seeing him close to ten runs, then five runs and I was thinking, he's close to getting his hundred. Even, I didn't realize that I was close to getting my fifty – it would be my first fifty in Tests if I scored 12 runs. I was so pumped up when he got his 81st hundred and it was a great moment to see," he added in the aforementioned video.
India eventually registered a thumping 295-run victory to go 1-0 up in the five-match series. Rohit Sharma and company have won the last four editions of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. They would look to return home with the trophy this time as well with a World Test Championship final spot on the line.