In order to guarantee that he had at least one photo with his idol, India all-rounder Nitish Reddy disclosed that his old photo from a 2018 BCCI event featuring Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma was a "safety" photo. After hitting 42 off 32 deliveries in the day-night warm-up match against the Prime Minister's XI in Canberra, he might as well keep his spot in the pink-ball second Test in Adelaide, where he made his Test debut in Perth.
Reddy fulfilled a childhood ambition when he and his hero, Kohli, forged an unbroken 77-run partnership in the second innings in Perth. Kohli also gave him his first Test cap ahead of schedule. On November 22, Reddy received his Test cap from Kohli, who also spoke kindly during the event.
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Nitish Reddy on Virat Kohli
"This was a safety photo, at the time he (Virat Kohli) was so famous. I felt that if I don't get a chance for photo later, let's take a picture now," Reddy said while speaking to BCCI.
"It's reminding me of my childhood memories. From childhood, I was a huge fan of Virat bhaiya. I used to watch every match of his, so that he scores a hundred and celebrates it," Reddy added.
The rookie claimed he wanted Kohli to get hundreds because he enjoyed his celebrations back then. To ensure that Kohli was not retired by the time he eventually played for India, Reddy also mentioned how he used to figure out his age.
"Now playing with him and I was seeing him close to 10 runs, then five runs and I was thinking, he's close to getting his hundred. Even, I didn't realise that I was close to getting my fifty. it would be my first fifty in Tests if I scored 12 runs," Reddy said.