Former Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane has showered praise on Nitish Kumar Reddy’s bowling performance after the T20I series against Afghanistan.  Reddy bagged a total of six wickets at an average of 13.17 in three matches of the series, finishing as the highest wicket-taker.

The all-rounder returned with figures of 3-25 in his quota of four overs in the third game of the series on Thursday. The youngster had bagged 3-24 in three overs he bowled in the second T20I after going wicketless in the series opener.

Rahane said Reddy’s pace is a little faster than we expect. The SRH all-rounder has certainly increased his bowling speed in the recent past.

Ajinkya Rahane said on his YouTube Channel, “I think he is a bowler who can take a wicket in his first over. He has that skill set, and the ball comes out nicely from his hand. He is a little faster than we expect, and the ball skids off the wicket. A captain has a good option when he has such an all-rounder who can bowl both with new and old ball.”

On the other hand, former Indian fast bowler Mohit Sharma had earlier said that we should keep our expectations lower from Reddy despite his impressive performance against Afghanistan.

He said on Cricbuzz, “We keep taking Hardik Pandya’s name again and again, but Nitish Kumar Reddy cannot match Hardik Pandya, at least for now. What happens because of that is that our expectations will be that Nitish Kumar Reddy will bat and bowl just like Hardik Pandya does.

“I think that is not fair. We should keep our expectations low. His way of batting is different. He is kind of a batter who can play the big shots once he gets set, rather than hitting a six from the first ball itself. So, if we set our expectations that way, then we are wrong. He should be used according to his talent.”

Reddy will be seen in action against the West Indies.