‘Poor boy Nitish Kumar Reddy is under stress’: Kris Srikkanth goes on brutal rant
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Former Indian selector Kris Srikkanth is now well-known for taking controversial jibes at Indian cricketers who have failed to be promising after being picked for the team. After Harshit Rana, this time, he takes an insulting dig at young Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.
India lost the South Africa tour, and several cricket enthusiasts have been blaming someone or something for the losses. For the former World Cup winner from India, one of the reasons is the unwanted burden of Nitish Kumar Reddy, who does not have any proper role to play in the Indian team.
Kris Srikkanth takes another jibe at the Indian team selections
Nitish Kumar Reddy received much thrashing after his poor and unconvincing show continued in the longest format of the game for India. He was dismissed for a duck while attempting a reverse sweep of Simon Harmer during the second innings.
Former team India batter Kris Srikkanth has questioned his selection and has claimed that the all-rounder himself lacks clarity over his role within the team.
"Nitish Kumar Reddy, I don't know whether he is a batter, bowler, or fielder," he said on his YouTube channel, "Cheeky Cheeka."
India were batting in front of a mammoth target of 549, as they already knew that they could not do much more than try to urge a draw in the game, and for that they needed to bat for 7-8 hours on the final day of play. He pointed out that Indian batters were dismissed in the dressing room itself due to the fear of getting dismissed.
"India knew they were out of this game in the dressing room itself because they had to play 7-8 hours. Look at how everybody got out. They were so overcautious. They were not out on the field, they were out in the dressing room before coming to bat itself," said Srikkanth.
Kris Srikkanth questions Nitish Kumar Reddy's role in the Indian team
Picked as an all-rounder, Nitish Kumar Reddy neither bowls more than 10 overs a game nor does he bat anywhere before no. 8. This has led to a huge question over what his actual function is within the team.
Srikkanth further claimed that the all-rounder has had no noteworthy performance since the century against Australia at Melbourne. He has failed to impress in the England series as well as the recent series against South Africa, while he denied considering the West Indies tour.
"Nitish Kumar Reddy, after Australia, has had a total slide. The knocks against the West Indies, I don't take them seriously. You can't consider him as a batter or a bowler because he hardly bowls. If you say he is a pure batter, he is coming at number eight. There is confusion, and that poor boy is also under stress and is fighting for his place. I am not blaming him, but blaming the system," he said through the aforementioned source.
Kris Srikkanth demands stability within the Indian lineup; Calls for Virat Kohli's return
The former selector has highlighted some true concerns within the Indian deck. Captain Shubman Gill did not take part in the second Test due to injury, while Rishabh Pant took over the captaincy. He feels India lacks players who are not fighting for their position.
He has also pointed out that if needed, India should consider bringing Virat Kohli back out of retirement in order to add stability to the Indian batting lineup.
"We have seen Pant's batting form while captaining. Last two years in the IPL, he also had a lot of problems. We have missed Shubman Gill. But I will go one step further and say bring back Kohli."
"You might think, what am I saying we did well in England. Yes, I am not saying no. But the point is, there is no stable batter apart from Jaiswal, KL Rahul, and Pant. Everybody is playing for their place. The right word for the problem is insecurity," he said.
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India National Cricket Team South Africa National Cricket Team India vs South Africa Nitish Kumar Reddy Kris Srikkanth Gautam Gambhir
