"India have to make their bowling sharper" - Sanjay Manjrekar feels visitors might be forced to drop their best batter of the series for Gabba Test
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar praised Nitish Kumar Reddy for his batting exploits in the first two BGT 2024-25 Tests, describing him as an exceptional talent with the willow. He, however, opined that the visitors might be forced to drop him for the third Test at The Gabba in their endeavor to strengthen the bowling attack.
Reddy (21) made his Test debut in Perth and had an immediate impact with the bat, top-scoring with 41 in India's first innings total of 150. The right-handed batter slammed 38* off only 27 balls as India pushed for a declaration in the second innings. The Andhra batter top-scored for the visitors in both innings of the Adelaide Test as well, scoring 42 during both his visits to the crease.
While analyzing Reddy's impressive efforts, Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo that the youngster undoubtedly has some rare batting talent.
"Exceptional batting talent there, and you can see it. Maybe the kind of batting talent that gets better with higher-quality bowling. He hasn't got many runs in first-class cricket, but you can see the rare batting talent there," he commented
The 59-year-old, however, added that India might have to think about leaving him out for the next Test since he doesn't offer a lot with the ball as yet. Manjrekar also described the thought of playing the youngster as a pure batter a risky proposition. The former India batter elaborated:
"India also has to think about the balance of the team. India also have to look to make their bowling sharper along with solving the batting issues. Nitish has shown some spark at the moment. Somebody suggested, what about playing him as a pure batter in the side. Bit risky, bit too early."
With 163 runs in four innings at an average of 54.33, Reddy is India's second-leading run-getter in BGT 2024-25 after Yashasvi Jaiswal (185). However, the batting all-rounder has only managed to pick up two wickets with his medium pace and has hardly looked a threat with the ball in hand.
Team India likely to ponder changes for Gabba Test after Adelaide debacle
India could not build on their great start to the Test series in Perth. They went down in Adelaide by 10 wickets as the Aussies squared the five-match series 1-1. The visitors would be pondering on making some changes for the third Test in Brisbane, which begins on December 14.
While they do not have many options in the batting department, either Washington Sundar or Ravindra Jadeja could come into the playing XI in place of Ravichandran Ashwin. Among pacers, India have Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna, both of whom were benched for the first two Tests.