India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who made his Test debut in the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia, said that the “last two months have been nothing short of an opportunity to grow, as a player and a person too”. Reddy made his red-ball debut against Australia in Perth and went on to retain his place in the playing 11 for the five-match series. The 21-year-old repaid the faith shown by the team management and impressed with the bat on the tour. He scored 298 runs at an average of 37.25, making him India’s second-highest run-getter in the series.

His knock of 114 – a maiden Test century at the Melbourne Cricket Ground – was the standout moment of the tour, especially with it coming when his father Mutyalu Reddy, mother Manasa, sister Tejaswi and uncle Surendra were in attendance at the iconic venue.

“From setting alarms to watch Test matches in Australia to gaining a first-hand sense of the Australian shores, the last two months have been nothing short of an opportunity to grow, as a player and a person too. Not the way we wanted to end the series. We’ll be back, tougher and stronger,” Reddy wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

With the ball, Reddy picked five wickets in 44 overs, with his best figures being 2-32. His performances and calm temperament on his first Test tour of Australia earned Reddy widespread praise from former Indian and Australian players, who have earmarked him to be a mainstay in the national set-up across formats.

Reddy, who made his T20I debut in the series against Bangladesh last year and shone by hitting a superb 74 in New Delhi, has been picked for India’s upcoming five-match T20I series against England, starting on January 22 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

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