Hanuma Vihari publicly shames journalist for 'Bits-and-Pieces' insult on Nitish Kumar Reddy

A journalist claimed that the young Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is a 'bits and pieces' cricketer, which has infuriated the former Andhra captain Hanuma Vihari.

Several former cricketers and cricket analysts have raised questions about the selection of Nitish Kumar Reddy in the Indian side for the New Zealand ODI series. As they feel that Nitish Kumar Reddy is insignificant in the Indian team, they have asked for a change in the squad from the team management.

However, the vile criticism of such a young player who has not even received suitable backing and is so raw as a cricketer at the age of 22 has infuriated the former Andhra Pradesh captain Hanuma Vihari, who has not backed away from making a strong statement on this matter.

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Nitish Kumar Reddy's significance is under scrutiny from major sports personalities

After Reddy was picked to feature for India in the second ODI against New Zealand, replacing the all-rounder Washington Sundar, who had been ruled out with an injury, he once again had to face criticism for his limited contributions.

Vikrant Gupta, one of the seniormost names in Sports journalism and the current face of SportsTak, questioned his ideal role in the side and why he is considered an all-rounder after bowling just two overs and coming into bat at no. 7.

The time at which Nitish Reddy came in to bat was when the Indian innings were already reaching the 40th over, and he had nothing much to do. Reddy slammed a six, and just when he got going, he was caught in the deep while attempting to clear the fence the second time off a slower bouncer.

Reddy scored just 20, almost at a run-a-ball, and bowled two overs for 13 runs without any major impact. This led to Kushan Sarkar, the PTI reporter, calling him more of a 'bits and pieces' cricketer than an all-rounder.

Hanuma Vihari slams journalist for vile claim on young Andhra all-rounder

Hanuma Vihari has been left infuriated by the term 'bits and pieces,' which has been used against the young all-rounder. He feels for a young all-rounder like Reddy, who has not yet been handed enough chances to make a suitable impact, calling him a bit is everything but not being an all-rounder is demoralizing.

Hanuma Vihari, who hails from the same state team and has played international cricket for India, claimed that there is no other domestic player who can bat and bowl with the same calibre as Reddy.

Hanuma Vihari then went on to highlight his stats in international cricket and clearly showed how he has done convincingly with the limited opportunities he has received, despite featuring for India in 17 matches across the three formats combined.

Can you tell me anyone else in the country who is at the level of Nitish who can bat and bowl seam? And he’s 22.
You call a 22 year old “bits and pieces” cricketer!?
Write him off just like that?
The overs bowled by him in different formats FYI :
ODI 3 matches - 7 overs
T20’s 4… https://t.co/rnE21KVp2J

— Hanuma vihari (@Hanumavihari) January 15, 2026

Nitish Reddy's stats in International cricket

The youngster Nitish Kumar Reddy was born in 2003 and bowls right-arm medium and bats as a right-handed batter in the side. He made his debut for India against Bangladesh in T20Is and then followed with a Test and ODI debut in Australia.

In 10 Test match appearances, he has amassed 396 runs and has also picked up 8 wickets, having bowled just 86 overs. In T20Is, the batter has played just three innings and has scored 90 runs, and also has three scalps to his name. His ODI debut is recent, where he has managed 47 runs and is yet to pick a wicket, having bowled just 7.1 overs.

In domestic cricket for Andhra, he has 1327 runs in First-Class cricket and has picked 66 wickets in 36 games, while his List A career also marked 626 runs and 21 wickets in 32 games.

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