Sunil Gavaskar: Nitish Reddy Better Than Hardik Pandya

Veteran Team India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar believes Nitish Kumar Reddy is a better Test batter than Hardik Pandya.

India’s sensational all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy offers the team’s fanbase something to cheer in a rather-gloomy Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024/25 outing. The skilled batter (along with pacer Jasprit Bumrah) continues to deliver great performances with the bat and ball respectively. India’s struggles to qualify for the June 11 – 15, 2025 event at Lord’s has seen the emergence of in-demand talents like Reddy.

Sunil Gavaskar Hails Reddy’s Selection for Team India in Whites

Gavaskar thinks Reddy’s emergence to Test cricket stardom would have been impossible without the team’s selectors:

“The Melbourne Test brought to the fore one of the brightest young stars in Indian cricket, Nitish Kumar Reddy. He came to the attention of the Indian cricket fans with his performances for the (Sunrisers) Hyderabad franchise in the IPL, and while he had not done much at the first-class level, it’s a credit to Ajit Agarkar and his fellow selectors to have seen enough to pitchfork him into the Test arena,” he said.

Gavaskar hailed Reddy’s ability to read game situations, tagging the youngster as a “good cricketing head”:

“In his debut Test match in Perth itself, it became evident that here’s a cricketer who could read situations and play accordingly. With every subsequent Test match, that impression of a good ‘cricketing head’ on his shoulders began to get stronger and stronger,” Gavaskar added.

Gavaskar believes Reddy is an ideal replacement for Pandya based on his abilities as a capable all-rounder:

“Ever since the unavailability of Hardik Pandya for Test cricket, India has been looking for an all-rounder who can bowl medium pace and bat as well. Reddy’s bowling is still a work in progress, but as a batter, he is definitely better than Pandya was around the same time,” Gavaskar concluded.

What are the Likely Reasons for Pandya’s Faltering Form in Test Cricket?

Rough IPL 2024 season

Pandya returned to the Mumbai Indians for IPL 2024 and had one of his worst seasons ever at the five-time title winners. He took over the team’s captaincy from Rohit Sharma and could only secure a last-place finish after repeat horrible performances. Pressure of the team’s captaincy and other on-field issues greatly affected Pandya’s overall form across formats in 2024.

Marital issues

Hardik Pandya went through a public separation from his Serbian wife Natasa Stankovic in late 2024. The couple decided to part ways and announced their decision through a joint social media post. Separating from Natasa gave fans several clues about Pandya’s horrible IPL 2024 outing.

It became clear to fans why he received no support from his estranged wife throughout a tough season back at Mumbai.

Loss of form

Some cricket analysts believe the combination of on-field and off-field challenges badly affected Pandya’s performances throughout 2024. Pandya has not been at his best since making a much-publicized switch from the IPL’s Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians. Fans can only hope he gets his act together in 2025, a busy year in India’s national cricket calendar.

Nitish Reddy vs Hardik Pandya – Who Was Better in IPL 2024?

Nitish Reddy

Reddy took part in 11 innings for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) franchise throughout 2024. The cricketer secured 303 runs with a season high of 76 across 13 matches. He got 2 half-centuries and 21 sixes throughout the season. Reddy also got 3 wickets in 7 innings as a bowler for SRH in 2024.

Nitish Reddy IPL 2024 stats

Hardik Pandya

Pandya took part in 13 innings for MI in 2024. He could only manage 216 runs without a half-century across all games. However, he had a better wicket-taking season than Reddy in IPL 2024. Pandya’s 11 wickets in 12 innings is a decent record, even if he managed this feat with a 10.75 economy rate.

Hardik Pandya IPL 2024 stats