'This selection is more in hope' - Sunil Gavaskar opines on Nitish Reddy's selection in 1st Test match against Australia

Nitish Kumar Reddy, a young boy from Andhra Pradesh, made his debut for India in Test cricket against Australia in the first game of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024. It was a special moment for the player to receive his debut cap from his idol, Virat Kohli right before the game.

This decision is criticized by experts and fans because the player doesn't have much experience in red-ball cricket. He has played 23 first-class games, scored 779 runs and taken 56 wickets. 

Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar opined on Reddy's inclusion in the Indian team and termed it as 'his selection is in hope'. Gavaskar said, "He has not played many first-class games and so clearly, I think, this selection of Nitish is more in hope, nothing less. Like all Indian cricket followers, I hope it comes off."

Reddy has been fantastic with the bat, scoring 22 runs as we write. He played some sweep shots against Nathan Lyon, getting the much-needed boundary for the team. However, India are struggling on 114 runs at the loss of six wickets in 42 overs. The hope is now on Rishabh Pant who is batting on 30 runs. 

Really surprised with Ashwin and Jadeja not playing: Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar spoke about the exclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the first Test match against Australia. Leaving out the most experienced players who have taken more than 900 wickets was something unusual. Instead of them, management went with Washington Sundar who is a good player. 

"Really surprised with Ashwin and Jadeja not playing, they have got 900 wickets between them in Test matches. They are not bowlers who can just play in Indian or sub-continent conditions. They are very clever bowlers, they are very experienced bowlers. Even if they might not get you wickets, they will be able to slow the scoring down because of the cleverness of how they bowl," said Gavaskar during the commentary.