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Nitish Reddy revealed what Gautam Gambhir told in their chat which helped calm down the nerves ahead of his Test debut in Perth.
Nitish Kumar Reddy was India’s top-scorer in the first innnings of the opening Test in Perth. (Image: AP)
Ahead of his highly-anticipated Test debut, Indian all-rounder, Nitish Reddy openly admitted that he was nervous ahead of his first Test which was against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar series-opener in Perth on Friday.
The youngster recalled how his chat with the Indian Head Coach, Gautam Gambhir helped give him that much-needed boost to ensure that he remains level-headed in the contest. It is likely that this chat with Gambhir was the difference in Reddy scoring a valiant 41 in 59 balls to help the side reach to 150 runs in the first innings.
“I heard a lot about the Perth wicket. There was a bit of nervousness. It was in the back of my mind that everyone was talking about the bounce on Perth wicket. But then I remembered the chat I had with Gautam sir after our last practice session,” Nitish told reporters during the post-day press meet.
“He was mentioning that ‘when you get a bouncer, take it on your shoulder. It was like taking a bullet for your country. That just boosted me. When he said that I felt that I needed to take the bullet for the country. That’s the best thing I have heard from Gautam sir,” he added.
The 21-year-old mentioned that he was aware that he would get his debut one day before the match. Despite the excitement, he was able to relax by spending some time with his fellow debutant, Harshit Rana with some leisurely activities to blow off some steam ahead of the opening Test.
“We got to know (him and pacer Harshit Rana) about our debut just one day ago, and we were excited. We were having dinner and we were keeping calm as last week.
“We did not want to take too much pressure. We had a cycle ride as well last evening, so that was good,” he said.
With the bat, Reddy has made a fine impression but as a bowler, he has yet to be called upon as the Indian skipper utilised his specialist fast-bowlers on the first day. But the youngster could be asked to bowl a few overs should Australia put up some fight at the start of the second day.
(with PTI Inputs)
