He played two matches in England.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 loss was indeed painful, but the rise of Nitish Kumar Reddy Down Under reassured the future of India in Tests. The then-21-year-old NKR stunned everyone with a century in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG against the mighty Australia. The all-rounder continued his dedication to getting better and was part of the England Test series, which concluded earlier this month.
TBW
188/5
BVB
183/5
AMR
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TBW
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ABF
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GAW
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SLK
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TKR
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NDT
144/3
ODW
142/7
New Delhi Tigers beat Outer Delhi Warriors by 7 wickets
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EDR
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WDL
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PD
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NDSW
118/5
EDRW
116/4
North Delhi Strikers Women beat East Delhi Riders Women by 2 runs
AUST
88/7
BEL
136/6
Belgium beat Austria by 48 runs
AUST
115/7
BEL
153/2
Belgium beat Austria by 38 runs
AUST
136/3
BEL
131/6
Austria beat Belgium by 7 wickets
AUST
146/0
BEL
142/4
Austria beat Belgium by 10 wickets
ROM
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CZR
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CZR
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ROM
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CZR
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CZR
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ROM
195/4
CZR
170/7
Romania beat Czech Republic by 25 runs
ROM
157/8
CZR
159/6
Czech Republic beat Romania by 4 wickets
KHTC
147/6
VFB
149/4
VFB Fallersleben beat 1.Kieler HTC by 6 wickets
KSV
173/3
SGFD
137/6
KSV Kings beat SG Findorff by 36 runs
SGFD
152/8
VFB
116/8
SG Findorff beat VFB Fallersleben by 36 runs
SGFD
82/10
KSV
87/3
KSV Kings beat SG Findorff by 7 wickets
LAN
249/9
BB
253/5
Birmingham Bears beat Lancashire by 5 wickets
DER
345/10
SURR
388/4
Surrey beat Derbyshire by 43 runs
YOR
354/7
DURH
142/10
Yorkshire beat Durham by 212 runs
WOR
298/5
GLAM
297/7
Worcestershire beat Glamorgan by 5 wickets
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291/10
GLO
343/7
Gloucestershire beat Nottinghamshire by 52 runs
PNG
205/10
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223/8
Denmark beat Papua New Guinea by 18 runs
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151/7
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152/3
Thrissur Titans beat Alleppey Ripples by 7 wickets
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164/9
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165/6
Adani Trivandrum Royals beat Aries Kollam Sailors by 4 wickets
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HBT
173/2
GBM
172/7
Hubli Tigers beat Gulbarga Mystics by 8 wickets
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195/7
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200/5
Mangalore Dragons Won by 5 runs
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GBM
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124/9
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152/8
Yallah Shabab Giants beat Renaissance Challengers by 28 runs
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139/5
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136/5
Majees Titans beat Muscat Thunderers by 5 wickets
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110/5
IAI
104/10
Royal Oman Stallions beat IAS Invincibles by 5 wickets
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ROS
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MAT
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AUS
193/10
SA
277/10
South Africa beat Australia by 84 runs
IPS
189/9
GCT
211/8
Gold Coast beat Ipswich by 22 runs
TMB
271/5
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193/8
Toombul beat Northern Suburbs by 78 runs
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138/9
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140/2
Welsh Fire won by 8 wickets
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114/9
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150/3
Welsh Fire Women beat Birmingham Phoenix Women by 36 runs
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MR-A
134/9
AS-A
135/4
Adelaide Strikers Academy beat Melbourne Renegades Academy by 6 wickets
NTS
135/10
PSA
139/3
Perth Scorchers Academy beat Northern Territory Strike by 7 wickets
PS
144/9
NEP
143/7
Pakistan Shaheens won by 1 run
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HHA
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ACOM
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MS-A
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BANA
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AS-A
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NOSK
114/6
KASS
110/10
Noida Super Kings beat Kanpur Superstars by 4 wickets
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182/8
GOLS
183/3
Gorakhpur Lions beat Lucknow Falcons by 7 wickets
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MEMA
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GOLS
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KASS
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While speaking to sports nutritionist Suraj Thakuria in an exclusive conversation with CricXtasy, he shared how dedicated Reddy is and that he’s going to reach great heights.
“Venky [Venkatesh Iyer] recently said that NKR is going to be the next superstar in India, and I completely agree with him. He is an extremely hardworking boy. He’s one of the most sincere clients of mine,” Thakuria believes.
Suraj Thakuria managed multiple cricketers in the likes of Venkatesh Iyer, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, and even the rising talent Vaibhav Suryavanshi. However, he ranks NKR as the highest in one aspect.
“My current favourite is NKR, I rank him even higher than Venky in terms of discipline,” Thakuria said proudly.
While on the England tour, the Indian players had access to fewer meal options. But NKR seemed to capitalise on what he had. He would also seamlessly transition into various diets as per the routines and the demands of the sport.
“There can be instances of forced eating. Let’s say he’s going to play the next Test match. We will have to load (calorie surplus) him [NKR] for the next two days. The carbohydrate intake has to be higher than the normal days. This is usually even more in all-rounders because they have to manage two departments; their chances of getting injured are more, and it’s a Test match. So, sometimes, there’s frustration, especially when you’re in another country. In India, things are still manageable. In the UK, there are fewer options.
Despite the obstacles, the youngster was decent on the tour. He played two games. In Birmingham, he got out after making one run each in both innings. He also went wicketless in that match. However, in the Lord’s Test, he accumulated 43 runs across two innings and took three wickets in total.
Thakuria also shared an anecdote from the practice matches ahead of the official Tests in England. It further showed how hell-bent NKR can be when it comes to his diet. He is quite strict with his approach, and this incident rightly proves his champion mentality that also sets the youngster apart from his counterparts.
“Ishan Kishan and Khaleel Ahmed were also a part of the practice matches. Nitish was batting, while Ishan must’ve gone inside the dressing room to get something. Ishan called me and said that Nitish is asking to keep his meal ready. So, he [Nitish] is so disciplined that he wants everything available as soon as he comes back from the inning. He could easily tell us that he’s in another country, and he’s unable to follow his routine, and that he’d have a normal diet. But he conveyed a message through someone, which is a very big thing. This shows how disciplined he is and how hungry he is to perform.”
During the two unofficial Tests, Reddy made scores of seven, 52*, 34, and 42 and also took one wicket in each match.
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The sports nutritionist feels that, in comparison, Reddy does a phenomenal job thanks to his consistent dedication.
“You need that dedication, and it’s a totally different thing for an all-rounder. If I were to compare diets, the most difficult diet is that of an all-rounder,” he added.
Speaking about how Thakuria manages NKR’s diet and nutrition to optimise his performance to the fullest, he said that the player was already aware of the basics of a diet. The experts simply had to make some tweaks in order to improve his performance and prevent injuries.
“On Day 1, NKR said, ‘I’m giving you one year of my cricketing career. It’s a very big thing for me.’ He was very clear since Day 1. We started working on his slight body fat. We rearranged the calorie intake and macros in his diet. He was already aware of diet (and nutrition) before coming to me. We simply put it in a structure as per T20, Test cricket, and rest periods. We can’t do anything about on-field injury. But smaller injuries like a niggle, cramps, etc, can be avoided with a good diet,” Thakuria concluded.
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