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India’s long hunt for a versatile player who can both bowl fast and hit big shots ended, or so it seemed, when Nitish Kumar Reddy scored a fantastic hundred in Melbourne. This new kid from Hyderabad really made his mark down under, going up against big shots like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, and even spin-master Nathan Lyon. And guess what? He can bowl some pretty decent medium-paced balls too—perfect for the English conditions we've got coming up in just half a year.

But oh boy, things have gone sour for young Nitish Reddy, who’s just 21. After being a major player in the five-game battle against Australia, now it looks like he might not even get to play in the big games. India’s coaches, like Gautam Gambhir, are seriously thinking about benching him. Sure, the guy’s got the raw skills to win matches, but he’s just not been on top of his game lately. And with the all-important India vs England series just around the corner, his form is really worrying everyone.

India has had a thing for seam-bowling all-rounders when they're playing in England. Guys like Stuart Binny, Hardik Pandya, and Shardul Thakur have all been there, doing their thing under captains like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma. Nitish Reddy seemed like he was going to be the next big deal after he killed it in Australia. The dude had 61 wickets in 28 First-Class games, which is pretty sick, right?

But lately, his game has been kind of meh. In this IPL season, he's scored a total of 173 runs in 9 times at bat, which isn't exactly setting the world on fire. He's been looking like he forgot how to play, and now he's not even close to the form that got him picked for the India team. And the bowling? Forget about it. He hasn't thrown a single over in the whole tournament. SRH's captain, Pat Cummins, was so not impressed that he benched Reddy for a super important game against Delhi Capitals.

And let's not even talk about the Australia tour. Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah barely gave him the ball. He played 5 Tests and only bowled 44 overs, taking 5 wickets. Meanwhile, Harshit Rana played just 2 matches and still got to bowl more than him 45 overs. In cricket, it's all about giving everyone a chance, but Reddy hasn't bowled in a real game for over three months. So he really needs to step it up with the ball, but so far, it's not looking too good.

This leaves Gautam Gambhir, the new captain of India, with a bit of a tough call to make. India's got a shortage of those all-rounders who can really bowl fast, you know? Shardul Thakur played in South Africa in 2023. He has been doing pretty well lately. He's been tearing it up in the Ranji Trophy, grabbing 35 wickets and scoring a decent 505 runs, averaging over 40 in 9 games.

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Thakur's got some history playing in England too. He's played four Tests there, got himself 10 wickets, and scored some decent runs 173 of them with three half-centuries, one of which was against Australia in the big WTC final.

Now, the selectors, led by Ajit Agarkar, have to decide if they're still all-in on Reddy because of his bowling skills, or if they'll pick someone else for the England series. For Gambhir, it's like his old KKR days all over again—lots of choices to manage and figure out what's the best move.