Kaif expressed reservations over youthful all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy‘s little impact in the second ODI and questioned his inclusion in the playing XI. Reddy, batting at number seven, bowled just two overs and finished with stats of 0/13, failing to contribute much. Kaif suggested that the choice to play Reddy disrupted the team’s balance because India didn’t seem to have enough frontline spinners on the Rajkot pitch.
Prior to the third and final ODI between India and New Zealand, which is set for Sunday, January 18, at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif made a harsh critique of the team’s selection.
“The squad that was chosen is confusing to me. In Rajkot, you played four pacers on a sluggish pitch. Three spinners were used by the New Zealanders. The outside team had a greater understanding of the situation. Even though they read the circumstances well, spin has not been their strong suit. India’s XI was confusing to me. Nitish Reddy’s function was also unclear to me. On his YouTube account, Kaif posted, “The coach and management, please tell me what his role is.”
Kaif also underlined that Reddy should not be considered a true all-rounder but rather a batter.
“The Indian team management should recognise this distinction as soon as possible,” he said. Kaif claims that because Reddy hardly ever bowls significant overs during games, he cannot be regarded as a sixth bowling option.
Additionally, Kaif noted that even the team captain seemed hesitant to depend on Reddy’s bowling, which suggested that he didn’t trust his ball-handling skills. Kaif continued by saying that Reddy does not currently have the bowling ability necessary to be successful as an all-rounder in limited-overs forms.
“All he is is a batter.” He isn’t a versatile player. The Indian squad will benefit more from this the sooner they grasp it. The captain gets uncomfortable whenever he plays. It is incorrect to claim that he is an all-around player. “He doesn’t bowl, but he plays,” Kaif remarked.
“Your sixth bowler isn’t him. He actually bowls occasionally. Bowls for the sake of bowling. For the sake of it, we didn’t bowl him when we played him, and nobody should blame us for that. His bowling is not trusted by the skipper. “He has no chance in white-ball bowling,” he continued.
India batted first and achieved a decent 284/7, with Reddy scoring 20 runs off 21 balls. But the effort was in vain, as New Zealand finished with seven wickets in hand after easily chasing down the goal in 47.3 overs. Notably, Reddy has only bowled nine overs in four T20Is and 7.1 overs in three ODIs for India thus far.
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