'He's a guy that can bowl that magical ball, so...': India bowling coach Morne Morkel hints Nitish Reddy's inclusion in playing XI in first Test vs England

India bowling coach Morne Morkel hinted at Nitish Kumar Reddy's inclusion in the playing XI over Shardul Thakur for the first Test match against England, which is scheduled to start from June 20. The 22-year-old Andhra Pradesh all-rounder made his Test debut in Australia during the five-Test match series of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, where he scored 298 runs in five Test matches (9 innings).

Morkel praised Reddy for his performances and he has high expectations from young Nitish Reddy for the upcoming five-Test match series against England.

"The more bowling options we can have, that's great. He's skillful. He's a guy that can bowl that magical ball, so for him it's about creating that consistency, it's something we want to work on, it's important for his game as well," Morkel said of Reddy. "I've had conversations where I've challenged him to bowl a bit more" Morne Morkel told media.

"I want to see the ball more in his hands, we all know what he can do with the bat. For a team, if we can have the bowling options especially in these conditions, I think he'll be exciting and can complement this bowling attack."

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Morkel reckons that the key for India to start well will be for their bowlers to hit the ground running immediately against an aggressive England line-up that will look to take toll of errors ruthlessly.

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"England - the brand of cricket they play, we need to be on top of our game," he said. "We can't afford to find our feet in this series. That's one of the things that has impressed me so much in the two days, the few sessions we've had.

"The guys have stepped up by themselves, they've taken the ownership and responsibility, they've realised it's going to be a tough tour. That's the pleasing thing for us as coaches, to see guys taking that leadership and ownership at practice."

The upcoming five-Test match series against England will be India's first red-ball assignment after a huimiliating 3-1 defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy that helped the Australia to seal their berth for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa.