Shardul Thakur though has been inconsistent in the role of bowling all-rounder from to time time he did blitz with a few knocks with the bat and crucial spells with the ball. However, with the team management deciding to move on from the 32-year-old the candidate who can play that role efficiently is Nitish Kumar Reddy.

Reddy has the ability to score some vital runs with the bat and also can bowl at a brisk pace consistently. Australian skipper Pat Cummins when asked about Reddy would say, “a great young kid, loved playing alongside Nitish for Sunrisers (Hyderabad). Great young guy starting his professional career this season. Impressed by how he went about his work. He didn’t bowl as much as he potentially could have but impressed with what we saw. Looks like he can swing the ball a little bit.”

Earlier this publication has reported that Nitish likely to make his debut in Perth. He bowls lively medium pace, can shape the ball away, and nip the ball inwards with a conventional and seam position which might come handy in Australia. He has conventional attacking shots, accentuated by a sweet bat swing, as well as a sturdy defensive technique. Nirmal, hyperbolic as childhood coaches could be, draws a lofty parallel: “From his early days he wanted to bowl quick, just like Kallis. Whatever kind of cricketer Kallis is, Nitish has the same capabilities,” speaking to The Indian Express earlier.

Though the 21-year-old did not have an innings or a spell to speak of in the A-games between India and Australia, bowling coach Morne Morkel has been optimistic about Reddy and his opportunities in the tour.”Any team in the world always wanted the all-rounder to take that load off your fast bowlers, just to give them an extra bit of breathing time. So how we use him, how Jasprit is going to use him, with maybe the spinner, to give himself, whoever’s going to be the other quicks, time to catch their breath a little bit is going to be important. He’s a guy that is a player you can keep your eye on in this series,” said the South African to the press on Wednesday.