Nitish Reddy has got everything in him to be a success for India: Venkatapathy Raju | Exclusive

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Former India cricketer Venkatapathy Raju has heaped praises on Nitish Reddy after his scintillating maiden century in Melbourne.

Nitish defied the odds to score a magnificent hundred at the MCG on Saturday. Coming to bat at no. 8, Nitish saved India's blushes and is currently unbeaten on 105 runs.

MyKhel had an exclusive chat with former India spinner Venkatapathy Raju, who spoke at length about the Indian youngster, who has now become the 3rd youngest Indian to a century on Australian soil.

"He is a positive cricketer. And the best part was the way he took care of his innings.
Rotating the strike, which is very important. You hardly find others doing that nowadays. Hopefully, he will have a long career," Raju said MyKhel.

The former India player also believes Nitish has asserted his case for future selection and insists the 21-year-old must work a bit on his bowling.

"He is a young boy. So, this will boost him more. At least, he is claiming his place. If he wants to become a good all-rounder, he just has to work a little bit on his bowling for a longer version. It's a good prospect to give a lot of confidence to all the young guys."

When asked if Nitish should be batting further up in the order, Raju says that is up to the coach. Although India has faced adversities in the match, Raju sees the upside in the way the youngsters have fought and rallied the visitors back in the match. He also went on to thank the selectors for keeping faith in the player.

"But you can see the way the young boys have fought back. That's most important. Australia is never an easy series. We have to give credit to the selectors also, for having faith in him," he added.

When asked if Nitish Kumar Reddy can solve the void of a pace-bowling all-rounder for India, Raju says that is solely up to the player.

"It's up to him. When you are putting him as an all-rounder, the all-rounder's job is to give those breakthroughs, right? So, if he can improve his bowling a bit and do what a bowler does, he will be a good asset for the Indian team, in all formats. He has got everything in him."