"Rare batting talent, but...": Sanjay Manjrekar drops hints of this player's feature in the team

10 December,2024 08:54 PM IST |  Mumbai  |  mid-day online correspondent

Exceptional batting talent there, and you can see it. Maybe the kind of batting talent that gets better with higher-quality bowling, Sanjay Manjrekar. Except for Team India`s lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah, other bowlers seemed to bowl with no plans to execute on the majority of the occasions

Sanjay Manjrekar (Pic: File Pic)


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Former Team India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar sees a rare batting talent in young Nitish Kumar Reddy. But he dropped a hint regarding his place in the team by saying that Team India might look to make its bowling attack sharper.

Nitish Kumar Reddy is undoubtedly the find of the series from Team India's perspective after just the first two Test matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

When the Indian stars struggled to score runs in the Perth and Adelaide Tests, the 21-year-old showcased his elegant strokes in the middle.

In the first innings of the series opener, coming in at number eight, Nitish was quick to realise that the surface offered nothing to Nathan Lyon and reeled off three fours in eight balls.

Also Read: Ajay Thakur's addition bodes well for the long-term vision of the team: Puneri Paltan CEO Kailash Kandpal

Even though Nitish has just 942 runs to his name in first-class cricket, averaging a mere 23.55 in 25 matches, he has shown signs of being much more than what his statistics suggest.

Nitish's understanding of the game has allowed him to wallop the Australians without struggling much to score. Coming to bat at number seven, he scored 42 runs in both innings of the second Test match.

"Exceptional batting talent there, and you can see it. Maybe the kind of batting talent that gets better with higher-quality bowling. He hasn't got many runs in first-class cricket, but you can see the rare batting talent there," Sanjay Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.

However, Sanjay Manjrekar raised his concern about the need for the Indian team to find the right balance after the Adelaide Test. Known for their prowess to take wickets according to their will, the Indian seamers were blunt while targeting the Australian batters.

Except for Team India's lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah, other bowlers seemed to bowl with no plans to execute on the majority of the occasions.

If Indian management decides to throw another seamer into the mix, Nitish could be the sacrificial lamb in the process. With the possibility of playing him as an all-out batter, Sanjay Manjrekar feels it is too risky and too early.

"But India also has to think about the balance of the team. India also have to look to make their bowling sharper along with solving the batting issues. Nitish has shown some spark at the moment. It is a bit risky but too early," he added.

The ongoing BGT currently stands level at 1-1 as the action now heads to Brisbane for the third Test, beginning on Saturday.

(With ANI Inputs)

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