Ryan ten Doeschate has backed Nitish Kumar Reddy as a dependable replacement for Hardik Pandya ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup. With Pandya still not a regular in the 50-over setup due to injury concerns, Team India is grooming Reddy as a key option for the marquee tournament.
“When Hardik’s fit, he obviously brings a different element because he’s such a strong batter, such a strong finisher,” ten Doeschate told reporters. “That sort of role scarcity is difficult to find a finisher who can give you overs as well. So those guys are all tracking really nicely.”
“Like I said with Nitish, for the last 18 months, he’s shown glimpses of how important he can be to this team, particularly in this format. I feel his body’s getting stronger and stronger and I sort of feel he is the natural successor or back-up to Hardik.”
Since making his ODI debut against Australia national cricket team in Perth last year, Nitish Kumar Reddy has played five 50-over matches, scoring 100 runs and taking two wickets. He has also impressed in red-ball cricket with valuable middle-order runs and useful breakthroughs as India’s third or fourth seamer.
“We feel we’ve got guys who can hold the bat at No.9”- Ryan ten Doeschate Praises India’s Lower-Order Batting Strength
Apart from Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy, Team India’s management has explored several other options to assess their depth. Harshit Rana was promoted to bat at No. 8 in a few games, while Prince Yadav and Gurnoor Brar have also been tested in the ongoing series against Afghanistan national cricket team.
Although Ryan ten Doeschate described them as bowling all-rounders, he emphasized that having bowlers who can contribute with the bat will be vital for the ODI World Cup in South Africa next year.
“I would still say the majority of those guys are bowling all-rounders,” he continued. “But certainly to see these other guys chipping in and working on their games, even someone like Gurnoor and Harshit again, they’re bowling all-rounders.”
“But the fact that we feel we’ve got guys who can hold the bat at No.9 and obviously looking forward for the next 14-15 months, that is going to be very important, especially in South Africa when you want to play three proper out-and-out seamers.”
“Those guys are going to need to bat. So yeah, a lot of good signs on the allrounder front and also on the fast bowler front. I think it’s been refreshing this week to see Prince, Gurnoor, and Nabi,” ten Doeschate concluded.
India are expected to play around 25 to 30 more ODIs before next year’s World Cup as they fine-tune their combinations, aiming to go one step further and lift the trophy this time.
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