Gautam Gambhir Explains Why Nitish Kumar Reddy Was Not Given The Ball In 2nd Test

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Cric News India

October 14, 2025 0 48

Gautam Gambhir explains why he decided against giving the ball to Nitish Kumar Reddy for the 2nd Test.

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has expressed strong concerns about the pitch prepared for the second Test against West Indies at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium, describing the surface’s lack of support for pace bowlers as “alarming.” Despite India’s seven-wicket victory, Gambhir emphasized the critical need for better-balanced wickets to preserve Test cricket’s competitive spirit.

The stark contrast between the series-opening green top in Ahmedabad – where the match concluded in just two and a half days – and the batsman-friendly Delhi track highlighted Gambhir’s concerns. The Delhi surface yielded four centuries and 1,280 runs across five days, offering minimal assistance to fast bowlers throughout.

“I thought we could have had a better wicket here,” Gambhir stated candidly. “Yes, we did get the result on Day 5, but again, the nicks need to carry. There has to be something for the fast bowlers as well. When you’ve got probably two quality fast bowlers in your ranks, you still want them to be in the game.”

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The coach directly addressed the pitch’s limitations, noting, “The carry wasn’t there, which was a bit alarming. Going forward, we can get better wickets in Test cricket because all of us have the responsibility of keeping Test cricket alive. The first and foremost thing to keep Test cricket alive is playing on good surfaces.”

Regarding young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who didn’t bowl but contributed a brisk 43 runs, Gambhir defended the team’s approach. “For me, it’s not important how many overs he’s bowled. It’s important that he’s gaining experience at home as well,” he explained, emphasizing the importance of developing players in familiar conditions rather than exclusively on challenging overseas tours.

Gambhir stressed the long-term vision for Reddy’s development: “We don’t want to use a 23-year-old boy just on tough tours away from home. That’s not fair. Whenever we can get the opportunity to put him in Indian conditions, we’ll continue to do that because it’s important for us to groom someone like Nitish – we’ve spoken for decades about seam bowling all-rounders.”