"This isn't how you treat young talent" - Fans unhappy with Nitish Reddy's absence from India's playing XI in ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

Seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Reddy was absent from Team India's playing XI for their Test series opener of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England. The match commenced on Friday, June 20, at Headingley, Leeds.

When the two lineups were out, several fans were unhappy to see Nitish's name missing. The 22-year-old made his Test debut last November in Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.

He impressed many with his batting exploits in the challenging series. He was India's second-highest run-getter on the tour, amassing 298 runs across nine innings at an average of 37.25.

Nitish notched up a stunning century in the first innings of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, scoring 114 runs off 189 balls. He also bagged five wickets with the ball from nine innings.

Many fans shared posts on social media to express displeasure after Nitish was benched for the first Test against England. Here are some of the top reactions on X:

"Played well in Australia and now ignored in England. Feel for you Nitish Kumar Reddy," wrote a fan.

"Nitish reddy should have been preferred over Karun Nair or if they want to have Karun , Sai should wait. Nitish scored like a batsman in Australia even under overcast conditions of MELBOURNE," remarked another.

"There is a shortcoming in the playing 11 of the entire Indian team that Nitish Reddy should have played in place of Shardul Thakur," chimed in yet another.

"What was Nitish Reddy's fault? Gave his all when given a chance, performed with intent and maturity. They should’ve backed him for one more game before making a decision. This isn't how you treat young talent," posted a fan.

It is worth mentioning that Nitish was part of the India 'A' team that played two unofficial Tests against England Lions prior to the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He registered scores of 7, 52*, 34 and 42, while also picking up two wickets.

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Indian team management preferred Shardul Thakur ahead of Nitish Reddy for END vs IND 2025 1st Test

Nitish Reddy and Shardul Thakur were the top contenders for the role of pace-bowling all-rounder. Thakur got the nod over the youngster for the first Test.

Thakur looked in great touch with the bat in India's intra-squad practice match. He played an unbeaten knock of 122 from just 68 deliveries. Meanwhile, Ben Stokes won the toss for England and chose to field first at Headingley.

Here are the two playing XIs for the first Test:

IND: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

ENG: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir