Young all-rounder Nitish Reddy recently shared a fascinating story about his idol, Virat Kohli. He mentioned that he would calculate his age to ensure Kohli wouldn’t retire before his debut. This revelation came ahead of the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Test, scheduled to begin on Friday, December 6, in Adelaide.
Reddy, who gained attention during the last IPL season, made his Test debut in the series opener in Perth against Australia. He received his Test cap from Kohli and delivered an impressive performance with the bat.
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The Andhra cricketer recently recounted his journey from taking a selfie with Kohli at a BCCI awards function to sharing a dressing room with him.
“This was a safety photo, at the time he (Virat Kohli) was so famous,” Reddy said in a video shared by bcci.tv. “I felt that if I don’t get a photo chance, let’s take a picture now. It reminds me of my childhood memories.”
“From childhood, I was a huge fan of Virat bhaiya. I used to watch every match of his, so that he scores a hundred and celebrates it. I liked his celebration a lot – at that time, I used to calculate my age so as to see if he doesn’t retire when I make my debut for India,” he added.
“One day, I saw him in tears over the financial struggles we were facing”- Nitish Reddy
Team India all-rounder Nitish Reddy recently reflected on his cricketing journey, sharing how his father’s financial struggles inspired him to take the sport seriously. His remarks came ahead of the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Test, a day-night match set to begin in Adelaide on Friday, December 6.
The 21-year-old, who comes from a modest background in Andhra, faced significant economic challenges during his childhood. Reddy admitted he wasn’t initially serious about cricket until witnessing his father break down under the strain of providing for the family. His father even gave up his job to support Reddy’s cricketing aspirations.
In a video shared by bcci.tv, Nitish Reddy recounted his journey, stating:
“To be honest, I was not serious when I was young. My father left his job for me and there has been a lot of sacrifice behind my story.”
“One day, I saw him crying because of financial problems we were facing and I was like this is not how you can be that my father made the sacrifices and you play cricket just for fun. At that time, I became serious and I got the growth, I worked hard and it paid off.”
“Everyone said, ‘Mutyala Reddy, you made your son go this far’. As a son of a middle-class family, I am so proud that my father is so happy now and I gave my first jersey to him, where I saw happiness in his face and felt immensely proud,” Reddy added.
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