BGT 2024-25: Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana make India Test debuts in first Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth

Hyderabad: India’s Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana have made their Test match debuts after they were included in India’s playing XI for the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test match at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Friday.

Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy are a part of a four-prong seam bowling attack for India alongside stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

The 22-year-old Rana has only played 10 first-class matches in his career but has 43 wickets against his name. He operates at an average of 24 and has two five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket match haul.

Rana has scored 469 runs in 14 innings at an average of 42.63, including two fifties and a hundred.

The Delhi-based player was a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) outfit in the Indian Premier League and was an integral part of the title-winning team in 2024.

Rana shot to limelight again during the Duleep Trophy this season where the all-rounder took eight wickets in two matches.

Meanwhile, the 21-year-old Nitish Kumar Reddy has played 23 first class matches and has taken 56 wickets, at an average of 26.98. He scored 779 runs at an average of 21.05 with one century and two fifties.

Nitish plays for Andhra in the domestic scene but his exploits in the Indian Premier League for Sunrisers Hyderabad fast-tracked his advent into the international scene. He scored 303 runs at a strike rate of 142.92 and took three wickets in the IPL 2024.

Nitish Kumar Reddy made his international debut in the T20I series against Bangladesh and even scored 74 off 34 balls, while also picking up two wickets, in the T20 at Delhi in October.

The only spin bowler in the line-up is Washington Sundar. It is only the fifth time since December 2012 that an Indian playing XI is without Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja. Four of those instances have come in Australia and twice at Perth.

Jasprit Bumrah won the toss at the Optus Stadium and India are batting first.