Veteran India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik has backed Nitish Kumar Reddy to do wonders for Indian cricket if given the opportunity but is not ready to put him in the Hardik Pandya mould. Nitish was one of the emerging stars in the last season of IPL, where he made his presence felt in a start-studded SRH batting line-up. The right-handed batter grabbed the limelight in the group stage match against Rajasthan Royals, where he scored a 42-ball 76 – a knock embellished with eight sixes. He finished the season with 303 runs and was also asked to roll his arms on a regular basis. He bowled around 13 overs in the tournament – picking three wickets.

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.

‘Nitish Reddy will blossom for Indian cricket’

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.

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