Nitish Reddy’s comeback gets timely boost with three-wicket haul

Nitish Kumar Reddy said his three-wicket haul against Afghanistan gave him the confidence he needed after returning from injury. The all-rounder also spoke about the mental challenges of rehabilitation, the importance of managing his workload and the Indian team management’s continued backing.

New Delhi: Nitish Kumar Reddy’s return from injury received a timely boost in India’s second T20I against Afghanistan, with the all-rounder producing a match-winning bowling performance with a three-wicket haul. After an underwhelming outing in the series opener, Nitish said the confidence gained from his second-game performance was exactly what he needed as he continues his comeback.

“Feels great, you know, every player needs the confidence when they’re coming from injury, and to be fair, the first game was not that great for me and in the second game I’m feeling much more happy enough because any player would be needing this confidence and I hope I continue this confidence forward,” Nitish said in a BCCI video on Wednesday.

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Nitish was named Player of the Match after returning figures of 3/24, playing a key role as India restricted Afghanistan to 159/8 before chasing down the target with seven wickets in hand. The performance came after the 22-year-old had spoken about the work done at the BCCI Centre of Excellence to get his body back to full fitness.

The all-rounder also highlighted the confidence he has received from the Indian team management since breaking into the side, saying the backing has allowed him to focus on his game without worrying about his place.

“It’s always been a privilege to be a part of the Indian team and the management, obviously, they have given me enough opportunities and they have shown a lot of trust. I think that is what a player would actually need and that I’m getting from the management. I’m pretty happy with that,” he added.

However, the road back from injury has also brought a mental challenge. Nitish revealed that the long periods at the COE can be mentally taxing despite the available facilities and training, with conversations with close friends and family helping him cope with the fatigue.

“I have a couple of best friends, I talk to them every day. It’s just mentally very fatigued in COE. Obviously, it feels great to be, you know, getting those many facilities over there to train, to perform, to increase whatever ability you have. But I would say, I talk to my friends, I talk to my family and here and there I go to my home and come back for 1-2 days. That is kind of relief, but yeah, that mentally is one thing which we need to take care of,” he stated.

For Nitish, managing his body is particularly important given the workload of being an all-rounder. While injuries can be difficult to accept, he believes the response to setbacks ultimately comes down to maintaining the right mindset.

“Injuries happen. Because maybe I’m an all-rounder, I have a lot more loads to work on. I have to keep an eye on them, I have to recover. I’m taking all the boxes but somewhere, you know, when you get this injury, you will feel bad about it and it’s all about mindset, I would say.

“You have to be really strong at those points. You don’t have to let any negative talk or any negative people coming at that time and poking at you. You just have to be mentally positive and do the good things and God will give you at the right time,” he concluded.