Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has said that Team India are trying to manage Nitish Kumar Reddy’s workload, which is why he was only picked for the first ODI against New Zealand as well. Admitting that Reddy is still pretty young, he
opined on the cricketer’s workload and stated that he has been bowling a lot more lately.

During a discussion on Cricinfo, Pathan said: “The Indian team is trying to manage his workload as much as possible. He’s young, but his workload has already gone up as far as the T20 bowling is concerned. I would have liked him to actually score more runs with the bat because he has in him to score more runs. It wasn’t the case, but his bowling load has gone up. So, they want to manage him and they think he will be an important factor in the two Test matches.”

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However, Team India took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series by defeating New Zealand by five wickets (DLS) method in Auckland.

“While batting, take your time early on. You know that you’re going to be peppered with the short ball. Just be ready and be aware. If Virat Kohli’s innings was not there in the first game, things would have been very different. The pressure came to all the batters. Even New Zealand batters struggled. We lost quite a few wickets in a quick succession. So, at the start, just be mindful of your stance,” Irfan Pathan concluded.