"The change happened during COVID-19" - Nitish Kumar Reddy's father on the turning point in all-rounder's career

Nitish Kumar Reddy's father Mutyalu Reddy has revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic was a big turning point in the all-rounder's career. He stated that it was during that period that his son started taking his cricket seriously.

Mutyalu mentioned a big shift in Nitish's mindset as he no longer was a mischievous kid. He remarked that the youngster was more focused as he realized the family's hardships.

Shedding light on Nitsh's change of mindset during the COVID-19 lockdown, Mutyalu wrote in his article for The Indian Express:

"The change happened during COVID-19. Until that point, he had played U14, U16 casually. Those two years when he was at home is when he realised that ‘my mother and father are going through these many hardships’. Those days even people who had money suffered but we suffered a little more.

"That is when he realised ‘Dad is not doing any job, they are all dependent on me. I should play cricket and take my father to the same status as he was before. For everyone to respect us again, I have to play cricket well.’ That is the mindset he got himself into."

Nitish Kumar Reddy has had a fantastic year. He showed a lot of promise while playing for the SunRisers Hyderabad in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He scored 303 runs across 11 innings and claimed three wickets in seven innings.

The 21-year-old won the Emerging Player of the Year award in IPL 2024 for his impressive performances. He made his T20I debut during India's three-match home series against Bangladesh in October.

Playing in his first Test series, Nitish has been brilliant with the bat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. He notched up his maiden Test ton in the ongoing Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, scoring 114 in India's first innings.

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"Daddy, it is not over yet, I will show you more and more going forward" - Mutyalu Reddy on his son Nitish Kumar Reddy's promise

Mutyalu Reddy was present in the stands when Nitish Kumar Reddy reached his maiden Test century in Melbourne. He was seen in tears as his son achieved a historic landmark.

He shared details of his conversation with Nitish after landing in Australia. Disclosing his son's promise to him, Mutyalu wrote in the aforementioned article:

"I will describe to you an incident when we came to Australia to meet Nitish. I hugged him and told him you have brought us this far; I am feeling proud of you and this is enough. And he replied, ‘Daddy, it is not over yet, I will show you more and more going forward’. And he showed it by scoring a 100 yesterday. I hugged him saying you have brought us this far. It is enough that I am happy. Within 24 hours, he scored a century. If you don’t keep faith in a son like this, whom else should I trust?"

Nitish Kumar Reddy has bagged widespread praise for his batting exploits in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He has chalked up 293 runs across six innings at an average of 58.60.