Nitish Reddy credits Kohli for inspiration behind maiden Test ton
What's the story
Indian all-rounder, Nitish Kumar Reddy, has unearthed a unique connection between his maiden Test century and former Indian captain, Virat Kohli.
In a light-hearted banter in the dressing room, Kohli gifted Reddy his shoes.
The special footwear was worn by the all-rounder during his maiden Test century against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
"I wore those shoes and scored a hundred!" said Reddy. Ironically, Reddy recounted the incident during a podcast on PUMA's YouTube channel.
Here's more.
Emotional recollections
Reddy shares emotional moment after scoring century
After his historic innings in Melbourne (114 off 189 balls), Reddy wished to share the moment with his father, who was sitting among the 80,000 crowd.
"Everyone in the dressing room came up and congratulated me, but I was just looking for one guy—hoping he'd come and talk to me," he said.
The young cricketer also revealed that Kohli praised him for his performance which made the moment even more special.
Light-hearted exchanges
Reddy shares playful banter with Travis Head
Reddy also shared a funny story from the Australian Test tour with Travis Head.
"Travis came up to me and said, 'Nitish, where are you going to party tonight?'—knowing fully well that I wouldn't," he said.
He added that during another match, while fielding at short leg, Head warned him saying, "Nitish, if you hit me, I'll hit you when you bowl!"
Franchise loyalty
Reddy's commitment to Sunrisers Hyderabad
Looking forward, Reddy will be seen playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2025.
He said he has a strong connection with the franchise.
"To be honest, I got some offers. But SRH is one team which I can really connect with," he said.
He added playing for SRH is like playing for his home team and he wants to bring the cup back.
Notably, in the 2024 season, Reddy scored 303 runs (13 matches) and bagged three scalps.