admin
Aakash Chopra has questioned India’s handling of seam-bowling allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, arguing that the repeated pattern of selecting him across formats but not actually using him points to a possible disconnect between the selectors’ thinking and the team management’s match-day plans.
Chopra raised the issue after the first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara, where India went in with three specialist fast bowlers but still left Reddy out of the playing XI. For Chopra, it wasn’t simply about one selection call — it was about the logic of carrying a player for “balance” and “future planning” while denying him the very game time needed to grow into that role.
“Do selectors and coaching staff not align with each other?” Chopra asked. “I still don’t understand what is being done with Nitish Kumar Reddy… Because he is selected.”
Chopra’s frustration, he said, comes from how frequently Reddy’s name appears when squads are announced. “Every time when a team is picked for any format, you find his name there,” he said. “Every time it is said that if we are playing test cricket, we need an all-rounder.”
He then pointed to what he felt were missed opportunities even when Reddy was around the Test set-up, suggesting the allrounder was neither trusted with a full batting role nor deployed as a genuine fourth bowling option. “We get him to play in Ahmedabad, but we don’t get him to bat… We only get him to bowl 5-6 overs,” Chopra said, before adding that the story repeated in Delhi as well. “We don’t even get him to bowl 1 over in 200 overs.”
Chopra also argued that conditions in recent matches made the omission harder to justify, especially when teams have leaned on seamers due to heavy dew and limited assistance for spinners. “There was a lot of dew in the South African series… There was not much help for the spinners. But Nitish Kumar Reddy doesn’t play,” he said. “And when we reach Vadodara, the story remains the same. Nitish Kumar Reddy is not played.”
In Chopra’s reading, the selectors appear to view Reddy as a strategic option — an allrounder who can offer insurance for the future. “He provides a balance to the team. They prepare you for the future,” Chopra said. “If Hardik Pandya never happens, what will happen?”
But he suggested the team management is operating with a different blueprint. “They say, we don’t want Nitish Kumar Reddy. We play with 3 spinners or 2 spinners,” Chopra said. “In our scheme of things, Nitish Kumar Reddy is not set.”
His closing message was simple: if India are not ready to commit to Reddy as an allrounder, don’t park him on the bench. “If you want to sit outside, then it is better to go and play Vijay Hazare Trophy,” Chopra said, “and make runs for your team and win wickets. Right?”
