Dinesh Karthik Firmly Rejects Comparison of Nitish Reddy to Hardik Pandya: ‘You are not guaranteed…’

Veteran Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik has shown his support for up-and-coming talent Nitish Kumar Reddy, believing that he has the potential to excel in Indian cricket. While he sees great promise in Nitish, Karthik is cautious not to compare him to the all-rounder Hardik Pandya just yet. Nitish made a name for himself in the previous season of the IPL, showcasing his skills in a star-studded Sunrisers Hyderabad batting line-up. In a standout performance against the Rajasthan Royals, he smashed a quickfire 76 runs off just 42 balls, including eight towering sixes. He ended the season with a total of 303 runs and also proved to be handy with the ball, bowling around 13 overs and taking three valuable wickets. Nitish Kumar Reddy is definitely a player to watch out for in the coming seasons, as he continues to make strides in his cricketing career.

Karthik hailed Reddy's batting talent and called him one of the country's quickest fielders, but he doubts his bowling attributes.

"I wouldn't put him in the Hardik Pandya mould, and I say that because you are not guaranteed four overs from Nitish Kumar Reddy at the moment. He could go on to become that, but what we can be very excited about is his batting talent. He is an outstanding fielder—one of the quickest in the country—so that is another major plus," Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

Meanwhile, Karthik was highly impressed with Nitish's ability with the bat and how he performed in IPL 2024 carrying the same tone set by SRH explosive openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma.

"What I really like about him is - playing for SRH is not easy as a middle-order batter because the tempo with which Head and Abhishek starts is very different to any other IPL team, they just get off to a flyer. What Nitish Reddy did really well was coming and continuing that tempo, and that requires skill. It's one thing taking 5-6 balls, taking your time and exploding, but a lot of times, he was able to maintain the momentum or run rate that the openers and number have set and that I love about him. It's not an easy skill, and it tells me that he is a man who is very sure of the shots he wants to play," he added.

After a successful IPL season, Nitish received his maiden India call-up for the upcoming Zimbabwe tour. Unfortunately, a last-minute injury pulled him down, and he was ruled out. He has been picked in the T20I squad once again for the Bangladesh series and Karthik feels if given an opportunity, Reddy is a player who will blossom for Indian cricket.

"He, again, is a young boy who, if given an opportunity, will blossom for Indian cricket. I am very excited for Nitish Kumar Reddy, after a long time we have seen another cricketer from Andhra so these are all good signs for Indian cricket," he concluded.