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.
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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