Dinesh Karthik Delivers Blunt Nitish Reddy Verdict Amid Hardik Pandya Replacement Claim

India eased to a seven wicket victory against Bangladesh in the 1st T20I in Gwalior on Sunday. In reply to Bangladesh’s 127, the Men In Blue needed just 11.5 overs to reach the target. Hardik Pandya returned to the lineup and proved to be an instant success as he shone with both bat and ball. He bowled a tight line and length and gave away 26 runs while picking up one wicket. In the second innings, he picked up from where he left off as he smashed five fours and two sixes to guide India to a 1-0 lead in the three match T20I series. India handed a debut to Nitish Kumar Reddy who burst into the scene for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL last season. The 21 year old all-rounder ended up scoring 303 runs for SRH while his pace bowling also reaped dividends as he picked up three wickets in the proceedings. There has been a lot of chatter lading to a comparison between Hardik and Nitish but Dinesh Karthik refused to compare the two players. In an interaction with Cricbuzz, the former RCB player raised doubts whether Nitish would be able to ball four overs in a match."I wouldn't put him in the Hardik Pandya mould, and I say that because you are not guaranteed four overs from Nitish Kumar Reddy at the moment. He could go on to become that, but what we can be very excited about is his batting talent. He is an outstanding fielder—one of the quickest in the country—so that is another major plus.” But Karthik lavished praises on Nitish’s batting ability as he pointed out how Nitish carried out the onslaught led by Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma at the start of the innings. "What I really like about him is - playing for SRH is not easy as a middle-order batter because the tempo with which Head and Abhishek starts is very different to any other IPL team, they just get off to a flyer. What Nitish Reddy did really well was coming and continuing that tempo, and that requires skill. It's one thing taking 5-6 balls, taking your time and exploding, but a lot of times, he was able to maintain the momentum or run rate that the openers and number have set and that I love about him. It's not an easy skill, and it tells me that he is a man who is very sure of the shots he wants to play."