"His bowling load has gone up" - Former India pacer on Nitish Kumar Reddy's workload management amid NZ vs IND 2026 ODIs

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

Reddy was not picked in India's playing XI for the first ODI against New Zealand in Auckland. He had earlier featured in all five T20Is against the Black Caps and made handy contributions with bat and ball.

During a discussion on Cricinfo, Pathan shared his thoughts on Reddy being rested for four of the five ODIs in New Zealand and commented:

"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."

Reddy bowled 17 overs in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand and claimed four wickets at an average of 48 and an economy rate of 11.29.

"Things would have been very different" - Pathan on Virat Kohli's knock in 1st NZ vs IND 2026 ODI

India took a 1‑0 lead in the five-match series by defeating New Zealand by five wickets (DLS) method in Auckland. Chasing a revised target of 143 in 32 overs, a number of Indian batters struggled, but Virat Kohli (74 off 51) looked in a zone of his own. Asked what mistakes India's batters should avoid in the second one-dayer in Wellington, Pathan said:

"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."

Rohit Sharma was dismissed for a duck in Auckland, while Shubman Gill made 37 off 56 and Shreyas Iyer 15 off 13.

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