Sacrifice over showcase: Behind Nitish Reddy's journey to India colours

Growing up, Nitish Reddy didn't have a trophy cabinet at home. He still doesn't.

"It is his dream to have one," his father, Mutyala Reddy, says. "But because we live in a rented house currently, we can't put too many nails in the wall."

The family now has the option of moving into their own house, built in 2018 with the help of INR 2 lakh that the BCCI awarded Nitish. However, since it's located far from the cricket facilities in Visakhapatnam, they continue to stay in a rented flat for the convenience of his training.

Mutyala Reddy admits that they were the only funds he ever accepted from his son, which otherwise went into his buying shoes and cricket equipment. This was despite the daily financial strain, especially after he left his well-cushioned government job when Hindustan Zinc suspended operations at the Visakhapatnam smelter in March 2012. Rather than relocate across the country to Udaipur in Rajasthan, he chose to stay and support Nitish in cricket climes he knew more about.

"At that time, Nitish was just learning the basics of cricket and I thought if I go to Udaipur, it would be difficult for him to manage with language," Mutyala Reddy says. "We also weren't sure about the facilities with regards to cricket, so I thought it would be better if I stay back at my native place and help Nitish pursue his passion."

The senior Reddy still had 25 years of service left when he made the decision to retire early and dedicate himself to Nitish's cricket. Constantly taking his son around for coaching sessions and camps left him with little time to pursue another job or focus on business, and he had no financial help from his father who was a farmer, so he relied on the interest from the retirement funds he received, using it to support the family even as the world around him wondered why. And how.

Naturally, Mutyala Reddy faced plenty of criticism from his fellow middle-class relatives but fortunately, his wife, Manasa, stood by him. "The only person I was concerned about and felt answerable to was my wife. I spoke to her, told her that we need to cut down on all unnecessary expenses and convinced her to lead a low-key life. She didn't say a word, just nodded in acknowledgement. She has been my biggest source of strength till date."

He gave his wife an assurance: "You take care of our daughter and her education. I'll handle Nitish and his cricket. Don't worry too much about his education."

Seeing his son play for India once felt like an unattainable dream for a man struggling to make ends meet, all while quietly hiding his financial difficulties from neighbours and relatives to avoid further scrutiny. At the time, all he hoped was for Nitish to secure a stable job by making it to the Ranji Trophy team. But as it turned out, fate had bigger plans for Mutyala Reddy's son. Not only has Nitish made his debut for India, but he also looks set for many more appearances. At just 20, he earned an IPL contract and appears to be someone Sunrisers Hyderabad would be eager to invest in long-term, given his local roots and the impressive all-round skills he brings to the table.

Nitish Reddy's cricket journey began in the small village of Thungalam, part of the Gajuwaka area in Visakhapatnam, a world far removed from the bustling cricket stadiums where he now shines. Back then, cricket in his village was a simple game played with a plastic ball, yet even in those humble beginnings, Nitish showed a spark that set him apart from the rest.

"Whenever his cousins batted, the ball stayed close to the house," the proud father recalls with a smile, "but when Nitish batted, the ball would vanish into the lake, onto rooftops, basically anywhere except from where the boys could get it back easily." Frustrated from constantly having to retrieve the ball, the kids started to leave Nitish out of the mohalla matches. It upset him deeply and he would often return home complaining to his mother about being excluded.

Seeing his talent, his parents decided that Nitish needed more space to play. "It was then that we started taking him to bigger fields and grounds so he could hit that plastic ball as far as he wanted," Mutyala Reddy says. The family eventually moved to the city of Visakhapatnam when Nitish began playing at the U19 level, a significant step in his budding cricket career.

From that point on, Mutyala Reddy's life revolved even more around his son's passion. "My only duty was to accompany him all day - to the grounds, to the gym, making sure his travel was taken care of," he explains.

This unwavering dedication stood out even for Nirmal Kumar, Nitish's U19 coach for three years and who dealt with many ambitious and supportive parents on a daily basis. "Everyone has parents who are there for them but Nitish's father was different," Nirmal reminisces. "More than the kid, it was his father who believed that his son could succeed. It's no surprise that Nitish takes him along to matches whenever he can."

Nirmal, formerly the head coach of Andhra, has worked closely with Nitish for years. He has seen Nitish adapt his game to meet the demands of Indian cricket - sometimes opening the batting and bowling, and other times moving down the order to fit the team's needs as a seam-bowling all-rounder.

Despite his successes, playing the U-19 World Cup remained a dream just out of reach for Nitish. "He played for U-16 while he was still in the U-14 category, and for U-19 while he was still in the U16 category," Mutyala says. "This ended up costing him a place in the India U-19 team, as there was a rule back then limiting participation to two years at the U-19 level.

"It was his dream to play in the U-19 World Cup for India. He always told me during our drives back from the stadium that if he could just get picked, it would make his path to the Indian team easier. But unfortunately, that didn't happen."

Nitish's cricket journey had been on a steady rise from 2017 to 2019 and he was constantly winning awards, including the prestigious Jagmohan Dalmiya Trophy for his numbers in the 2017-18 Vijay Merchant Trophy (1237 runs at 176.41, which included a triple and a quadruple century). It felt like Nitish was primed for bigger things, that he could soon be promoted to the U-23 level, but then came the disruption.

The COVID-19 pandemic struck, and with it, Nitish's cricketing momentum screeched to a halt. From 2020 to 2021, he barely played, and when the 2021-22 season finally arrived, it seemed as though the world had moved on. His "past achievements were forgotten", and to his family's shock, he wasn't considered for either Ranji Trophy or U-23 cricket.

"We felt a little doomed during that phase," Mutyala Reddy recalls about the challenging time in his son's career. "We thought it would be tough to catch up once you fall behind in selection cricket. We had no idea why Nitish wasn't being considered." Like any concerned parent, he even wondered whether his son needed a recommendation to get back into the team. "I asked him if he needed any help, but Nitish just told me one thing, 'Dad, don't go anywhere. I will have an opportunity to prove myself again and I will answer with my bat.'"

True to his word, Nitish's patience and hard work paid off. He was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad at the IPL 2023 auction for INR 20 lakh, ten times the amount he had once lent his father to complete the construction of the family house. However, his real turning point came in February 2024, when he smashed 159 runs off 186 balls in a Ranji Trophy match, a powerful reminder of his ability with the bat and one which helped him stand out during the SRH camp that followed.

"Iss baar jyada aane ka chances hai, sir," Nitish told his coach Nirmal, confident that he would get more opportunities in the 2024 IPL season. "He was hitting them long and managing pressure situations well in the pre-season camp," Nirmal recalls, noting how this left both Pat Cummins and the SRH management impressed.

Working hard has always come naturally to Nitish. From the very beginning, his spark set him apart. While others would tire quickly, Nitish would show up before the net sessions started and be the last to leave.

One incident from his U-19 days in 2019 stands out. After two full days of practice leading up to a match, both the batting and bowling sessions were done. But on the eve of the match, Nitish still felt his preparation wasn't enough. Instead of resting like most players would, he went back for more practice. And not for batting, which many would have preferred, but bowling. "It just didn't feel right," he told his coach. "I need to practice more."

In fact, Nitish's dedication to cricket has kept him away from things that most people his age take for granted. "He's never been to Araku till date," Mutyala says of his son, referring to the famous hill station just a couple of hours away from their home in Visakhapatnam. "I told him from a young age, 'if you want to enjoy life, leave cricket and study whatever you want. But if you're serious about cricket, work hard now, and the time to enjoy life will come later.'"

Nitish took those words to heart and that discipline extended to other areas of his life. He never even went to watch movies with friends, his father says, instead focusing all his energy on his cricket. In his free time, he watched international cricket matches alone in his room.

This focus and work ethic, and the unwavering support from the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) and the Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association (VDCA), conjured up a maiden India call-up for him in July 2024. But what should have been a moment of joy was short-lived. Just 24 hours after hearing the news of his selection, Nitish was ruled out with an injury. For Mutyala Reddy, the news was devastating. "I was shell-shocked," he recalls, his voice trembling as he fought tears.

"When Nitish told me he needed five weeks of rest, I couldn't control my tears. It was like the world had come crashing down again. We were getting a lot of phone calls from friends, family and coaches to congratulate him on his national selection but we really felt numb and didn't know how to react.

"I was like 'Why God, why? Why us again?' This was not the first heartbreak for us; even when he played for India B U-19s, his progress was halted due to COVID. And now this. I thought maybe we were cursed. I didn't recover from the setback for a few weeks."

Nitish, always calm under pressure, insisted that his father stay put and not travel to Bengaluru, where he was receiving treatment. Despite the pain of seeing his son sidelined just as his dream was coming true, he held on to the hope that Nitish's time would come again.

And it did. When Nitish was selected for the Bangladesh series, his father approached the news with cautious optimism. "After what happened before, I didn't even put up a WhatsApp status to celebrate," Mutyala Reddy admits. "I thought it is better to stay calm and see what lies ahead.

"Unfortunately, I couldn't go for his debut game in Gwalior as there were no direct flights and we only got to know about his debut a day earlier."

Mutyala Reddy and his family will be in Hyderabad for the third T20I against Bangladesh, and it will be the first time they will see him play in India colours, a dream that once felt far out of reach. For the father, this moment is a culmination of years of sacrifice and dedication, a journey that began with tough decisions and quiet resilience.

Through it all, Nitish has carried reminders of this journey with him, most notably in the form of his tattoos. His most recent, an Achilles symbol, represents not only strength and courage but also the vulnerability that comes with it, much like Achilles' heel. He also has a clock tattoo marking his sister's birth date and another honouring his parents.

While his tattoos symbolise his journey and roots, Nitish doesn't keep souvenirs to commemorate his achievements. He doesn't mark his bats after big knocks, save balls from impressive spells or collect stumps from memorable matches. It's a habit his father isn't particularly fond of. "I'm a sentimental person," he says. "I keep telling him to save something, but he never does."

But maybe Nitish's reluctance has more to do with practicality. After all, he doesn't have a trophy cabinet to display them.

As his dream of playing in front of his parents finally comes true, another dream remains on the horizon: to one day hang the reminders of his journey on the walls of his own home.