Nitish Kumar Reddy reveals Pat Cummins' role in his success as pacer at Lord's: ‘He told me it's not going to be…'

Hindustan Times

11-07-2025

When England asked India to bowl at the Lord's Cricket Ground in the third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, one expected wickets to come through Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, or Akash Deep. However, the first two wickets for the visitors came after one hour of toiling on Day 1 and it came through the most unexpected source. Nitish Kumar Reddy stood up for Shubman Gill's India in his very first over as he dismissed openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley. Nitish Kumar Reddy spoke about how Pat Cummins helped him in making his bowling better. (BCCI- X)
It would be fair to say that Nitish Kumar Reddy was the pick of the Indian bowlers on Day 1 of the Lord's Test. He outbowled Bumrah, Siraj, and Akash Deep. Speaking to reporters after the close of play on Day 1, Reddy credited bowling coach Morne Morkel and his SunRisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins for his improvement with the ball.
India captain Shubman Gill introduced Nitish Kumar Reddy into the attack in the 14th over, and he bowled nearly 14 overs on the opening day of the Test against England. He was able to get more swing off the wicket than the pace trio of Bumrah, Akash, and Siraj.
'After the Australia tour, I felt like I had to improve my bowling and my consistency. That's what I looked about. And yeah, Pat is my captain, and he's been brilliant in Australia, and I have asked him some tips, and he has been telling me how things would've been done in Australia, how I can go about it in Australia. And that's a great experience for me, sharing with Pat Cummins,' Reddy told reporters.
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'I just asked Pat Cummins about the difference in bowling in Australia and England. This is my first tour. He said, 'It's not going to be a different change. You just watch the weather conditions and just play your game. Just try to learn as much as you can',' he added.
'Morne Morkel has been great'
Reddy also said that working with bowling coach Morkel has done wonders for him and that he is really enjoying working with the former South African speedster.
'Coming to this tour, I would say, working with Morne Morkel has been great for me. He's working with me for a couple of weeks, and we are seeing good progress in my bowling, and I'm really enjoying working with him,' said Nitish Reddy.
Before the series against England began, Nitish Reddy played for India A against the England Lions and also participated in the intra-squad match.
"We've been working on my consistency a lot since I get a bit of swing both ways," Reddy said. 'I just want to be consistent on the areas. So we are working on that. I've been working hard on my bowling for one year or two years,' said Reddy.
'I've been doing a lot of hard work, but later on it is about understanding things and believing in myself. If you believe, that's when your hard work comes on point. That's what I'm realising now,' he added.
After opting to bat first, England reached the score of 251/4 at stumps on Day 1. Joe Root and Ben Stokes are unbeaten for the hosts on 99 and 39 respectively.