India's up and coming all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has had a dream 2024 so far. From making everyone go gaga over his big-hitting skills in the IPL 2024 while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad to making it to the Indian Test squad for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Nitish Reddy has had a dream run. He couldn't have asked for anything more. The fast-bowling all-rounder is being looked at as a quality option, the primary reason that earned him a spot in India's squad for the five-Test series.

Reddy is also a part of the India A squad, which will square off against Australia A, beginning October 31. Ever since scoring 303 runs and taking 3 wickets in IPL earlier this year, Reddy's stocks have risen exponentially. Making his T20I debut in the 2nd T20I against Bangladesh, the right-handed batter scored 74 runs and took two wickets to make heads turn.

In a wide-ranging chat with The Hindustan Times, Reddy, 21, spoke about a variety of topics, including his desire to become the best all-rounder in the world, and the kind of messages he has received from Gautam Gambhir and Hardik Pandya. More importantly, Reddy weighed in on the prospect of playing against Pat Cummins, under whom he had his breakthrough IPL season a few months back.

Excerpts:

Being named in the Indian Test side is quite an honour. What exactly are your feelings right now, on being named in the main squad for the upcoming BGT? How surreal has 2024 been for you, considering you had a breakthrough IPL, making T20I debut and now a Test call-up?

I am so proud to be playing against Australia in the Indian side. Every cricketer has this dream to play Test cricket. I am so honoured to play along with the Indian team. I am really happy about everything that happened in 2024. I have been waiting for the right opportunity. I didn't get the opportunities to prove myself in batting but in 2024 I got the right chance and I am glad to have utilised it. Everything is going well and I want to work so hard from here to become a good all-rounder.

Before the BGT begins, you will have the experience of playing Down Under in some crucial A games against Australia A? How important do you think this experience will be for you?

This will be an important series for me because I will get to know how Australian wickets are, and how the conditions are over here. Before playing against the Australian team, this will be a very good experience for me.

What is your eventual goal? Is making it big in Tests the ultimate high for you?

For me, it's always been my childhood dream to become the best all-rounder in the world. Obviously, representing India is everyone's dream. But the ultimate goal is to become one of the best all-rounders in the world. That's what really boosts me every time to work on my bowling. I feel if I work some part in my bowling, I can be the best all-rounder that I was expecting.

The first India A game begins on the same day as the IPL retention deadline. Is the focus solely on the India A assignment, or are you thinking about the retention list too

To be honest, my focus is still in India A. I don't want to divert my focus because red ball needs a lot of focus. You need to be determined for this thing. I don't want to shift my focus to the auction process and retention process. I just want to keep it simple, follow my red-ball routine and do everything that needs to be done.

You've had a dream start to your international career, as you smashed the ball around in the 2nd T20I against Bangladesh? What exactly were your feelings on that day, what sort of message did you receive from head coach Gautam Gambhir?

At the start, it was nothing. They were telling me to play in an aggressive way. The kind of approach I showed in IPL, they were telling me to go with the same approach, same mindset, everything. Just play according to the situation. I still remember during the drinks break when Gautam Sir came in and I played reverse sweep it needed a DRS. When it was given not out as it was the umpire's call, he came in the centre and he told me, Nitish, you have good power. You can clear the boundary line easily. You have no need to play reverse sweep on these kind of wickets because the ball is keeping low.

He told me to back my power. So I just backed my power and rest of the things went very well. The over bowled by the spinner turned out very well for me at that time.

You played this year's IPL under Pat Cummins, and might get the opportunity to now play against him in BGT? What do you make of possibly playing against Cummins and Australia Down Under?

I'm feeling so excited to play against him. I know he is part of SRH and what kind of planning he does. He just keeps it simple. He forced batters into mistakes. He tries to hit that off-stump area and believes in his consistency. So you need to be a little patient against him. To be honest, playing against him will be a pleasure for me. I played with him, not against. So it's exciting.

What are the biggest qualities of Pat Cummins as a leader, since you have worked with him at close quarters. How much influence did he have on your game in this year's IPL?

He doesn't put pressure on any player. He just gives you that license whether we get all out for 100 or whether we score 250 or 240 plus runs. He just says the same thing. 'Be aggressive and you play your game'. You have that license from my side. You just play according to the situation. That's what really matters to me. Giving the free hand is a key point that makes everyone play in that manner.

When you got your India cap earlier this year, what sort of interactions did you have with captain Suryakumar Yadav?

He gave me mental tips, how strong I can be mentally. I still remember he told me 'you don't need to be pressured when you play for the Indian team'. It's just like an IPL and you're playing for your own state. When you desperately want to win, it should be like that intensity in the Indian team as well. We need to win at whatever cost. We need to win the match. For that, we need the efforts and you're a young lad. We need you to be on your toes.

He told me that in batting, if you want to be aggressive from the first ball, that license is there from me. If you want to bowl bouncer from the first ball, you can. So that sort of freedom he gave me, it really boosted me as a youngster coming into the Indian team. Captain coming to you and speaking in such a way really makes you feel much more confident.

Fast-bowling all-rounders are a rare commodity in India, hence it is of great importance that you stay fit. How closely do you work on your fitness, and as a fast bowler, are you looking to add a bit more speed to your arsenal as a bowler?

To be honest, I am trying to be more consistent in red ball. I feel like bowling 130-135 is good pace. Rather than going 140-145, trying to bowl more pace, I just don't want to lose my consistency. So I am trying to have more consistency at this pace. In that process, if my pace got increased, that's well and good. But my first priority will be bowling the consistency areas, hitting the top of the off stump. That's what Gautam Gambhir sir also kept on mentioning to me, so I wanted to focus on that.

Lastly, you must have spent some time with Hardik Pandya during the T20I series against Bangladesh. Did he give you any valuable tips to make it big as an all-format all-rounder?

In matches, he was always backing me. When I was bowling, he came to mid-off and was explaining how to bowl on these kinds of wickets. How you need to bowl to a particular batter. He came and he told me to bowl wider, wide slow ones that really worked in that match. He told me to bluff batters with Yorkers and slower ones that really worked. He was giving me constant inputs and he believed in me as well. So everything went very well.

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