Reddy can 'compete for allrounder's spot' - Morne Morkel

There is a certain air of confidence about Nitish Kumar Reddy's bowling. He comes in quickly, powers through the bowling crease, and his deliveries have a noticeable lift to them. Reddy will play in the three-match ODI series against West Indies after a successful T20I series against Afghanistan, in which he took three wickets in each of the second and third games.

Reddy has only played six one-day internationals, but his results have been average. At the 2027 ODI World Cup, Reddy could be India's backup all-rounder with Hardik Pandya struggling with injuries.

"I think Nitish, if we just rewind to the T20s, the way he bowled in different situations has been very impressive," India's bowling coach Morne Morkel said. "The constant message to him is to keep things simple and perform the fundamentals as well as possible. When it comes to baseball, the field, and the bat, I believe he has a lot of talent. Having the mindset that he always wants to be the one who creates opportunities is fantastic."

Reddy has also been sidelined by injuries, most recently being sidelined by a quadriceps injury during the series against Ireland and England. He came back for the ODIs against Afghanistan, where he cost a lot of money, but he did well in the T20Is. Following his exclusion from the Asian Games squad by the BCCI, he was included in this ODI series after Pandya was still not fit.

Reddy was one of the most impressive bowlers on display on Friday, two days before the first ODI against West Indies. He was quick, got the ball to move away late, and twice beat Shubman Gill's outside edge off Rohit Sharma's bat. He also seemed to use the bat well.

Morkel stated, "I think the role that we want him to play in certain situations is: how can we ask him to be as consistent; how well can he fulfill just doing the basics as best he can." "I believe that is yet another circumstance in which we must provide him with these opportunities to learn and develop.

"Fortunately, we do have some time now, and if we can continue developing him and allow him to compete for that all-rounder spot, it will be great for Indian cricket. He's got all the talent and all the ability to do that, but for us it's just important to manage him quite well, to give him quite a simple role in terms of what he needs to do for the team."

India are currently adopting a 50-over strategy in preparation for the ODI World Cup in a year. They will play five one-day internationals in New Zealand and three one-day internationals at home against Sri Lanka at the end of the year, followed by three one-day internationals against Zimbabwe at the beginning of 2027. Morkel wants the players to put themselves under "as much pressure" as they can and stop "protecting their own space," even though there will still be random experimentation and opportunities given to different personnel.

Morkel stated, "We're constantly keeping an eye on workload management, how to give the guys the best chance to be fit and put their name in the hat for selection." "We're excited to get Hardik, Harshit Rana, and all those other guys back on the field, get them playing, and get them fit again. Therefore, collaborating with the medical side to map that out is a part of our job.

"But there's definitely a plan for everyone, and we'll keep an eye on that and figure out the best way to give the selectors and everyone the best group from which to choose."