Indian men’s cricket team assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate feels young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy could play a major role in Team India’s future ODI plans, describing him as the leading candidate
to provide cover for, and potentially succeed, Hardik Pandya in the years ahead.
Speaking in a BCCI video, ten Doeschate reflected on India’s growing pool of all-rounders while emphasising the unique qualities that make Hardik such a valuable asset in limited-overs cricket.
“It’s really good. I would still say the majority of those guys are bowling all-rounders. And when Hardik is fit, he obviously brings a different element because he’s such a strong batter, such a strong finisher. A sort of role scarcity – it is difficult to find a finisher who gives you overs as well,” ten Doeschate said.
With Hardik currently sidelined due to a quadriceps-related injury setback, India have once again been forced to examine alternative seam-bowling all-rounder options. The search carries added importance with preparations already underway for the 2027 Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
“Like I said with Nitish, for the last 18 months, he’s shown glimpses of how important he can be to this team, particularly in this format. I feel his body’s getting stronger and stronger, and I sort of feel he is the natural successor or back‑up to Hardik,” ten Doeschate added.
Why India Need Pace-Bowling All-Rounder?
Conditions in South Africa could encourage India to field more specialist fast bowlers, increasing the need for lower-order batting contributions. Ten Doeschate highlighted players such as Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey as examples of bowlers who can strengthen the batting lineup despite not fitting the traditional batting all-rounder mold.
“Certainly to see these other guys chipping in and working on their games, even someone like Gurnoor and Harsh, again, they’re bowling all-rounders. But the fact that we feel we’ve got guys who can hold the bat at number nine, obviously looking forward for the next 14, 15 months, that is going to be very important,” he said.
“Especially in South Africa, when you want to play three proper out-and-out seamers, those guys are going to need to bat. So yeah, a lot of good signs on the all-rounder front and also on the fast-bowling front.”
India’s ongoing ODI series against Afghanistan has also provided opportunities to assess emerging pace talent. Ten Doeschate expressed satisfaction with the options coming through the ranks.
“I think it’s been refreshing this week to see Prince, to see Gurnoor, to see Auqib Nabi. All of a sudden, the cupboard of seamers is very full, which is a great sign for this team,” he said.
