Is Nitish Kumar Reddy Ready to Replace Hardik Pandya in the Test Squad?

Nitish Kumar Reddy has proven to be a talented youngster for the Indian cricket team. But it is now time for him to be fully in form for the Test format. It is being reported that Reddy will be a part of the Indian team against the West Indies.

India has already won the first game, and the second match will be played from tomorrow in Delhi. With Reddy receiving another opportunity, the selectors want him to build like a Test player and possibly fill the gap created by Hardik Pandya's departure from Tests.

It has been almost a year since Nitish Kumar Reddy made his debut in the Test format. Despite being just 23 years old, Nitish has shown his potential for the team from his very first game. The selectors are now seeing him possibly as the next replacement for Hardik Pandya in the Test format.

In the Test format, he has received the chance in just 8 games. Out of these, fans only remember his century against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Even in his initial games, Reddy was able to take the Australia challenge well.

But it is now time for him to be prepared for more challenges, as per the cricket analysts. The Indian team also needs a pace all-rounder in its line-up. Various players have stepped up to fill the shoes of Hardik Pandya in the Test format, but none of them has been successful in doing the same.

During his limited experience, Nitish has managed to form himself as a batsman. In addition to that, he is also a backup pace bowling nominee to the team, and he can field wickets, giving the much-needed breakthroughs at crucial moments.

Nevertheless, the 11 Test matches played by Hardik Pandya allowed him to make the desired contribution to the Indian team. In the same 11 innings, he has already scored a century and 4 half-centuries in addition to taking 17 wickets to his name. This demonstrates that Hardik Pandya can play both with the ball and the bat.

In his place, the Indian team has tried numerous options in the Test format. But unfortunately, none of them was able to perfectly replace him. Shardul Thakur comes in as the biggest example for the same, but he was seen more as a bowler to the team. Now, with Nitish Kumar Reddy, the team has high hopes of replacing Hardik Pandya from the Test format.