Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra lavished praise on Nitish Kumar Reddy after India secured a seven-wicket win against Afghanistan at Dharamshala on Saturday. Reddy returned with impressive figures of 2-31 in his four overs as Afghanistan was bowled out for 194 in 24.5 overs.
The all-rounder was able to get the big wicket of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who scored a 51-ball 102, with a perfect yorker. Reddy also got the crucial wicket of experienced batter Mohammad Nabi.
It has been observed that Reddy has definitely improved his bowling and was seen bowling around 140 kmph in IPL 2026 for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“Let’s talk about Nitish Kumar Reddy because Bharat Ek Khoj used to be a program. There has been a search like that for Hardik Pandya’s replacement. We first searched for Kapil Dev’s replacement. Manoj Prabhakar came for some time, but maybe not the same quality,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“So Hardik Pandya played and there was a match in Bangladesh. I interviewed him there, and he said we wouldn’t search for Kapil Dev’s replacement after this. He had just started playing, and he was true to his word. However, he is not going to be there forever. He plays only white-ball cricket and plays limitedly there as well,” he added.
Chopra praised Reddy for making a strong comeback with the ball after getting hit for a six.
“We have been trying different people, but we haven’t got that result. Nitish Kumar Reddy is one more chapter of Bharat Ek Khoj. His bowling has become better. He started by getting hit for a straight six. After that, he hit Rahmanullah’s stumps with a yorker and then picked up one more wicket,” he said.
“Bowls the difficult overs in a way, and he is constantly telling that what you saw in the IPL wasn’t an aberration. He is saying that he can do it here as well. He is bowling more overs. Good seam position, speed, and control. Nitish Kumar Reddy doing well is extremely important for Indian cricket,” Chopra observed.
The second ODI between India and Afghanistan will be played at Lucknow on Wednesday.
