Nitish Reddy, like most 21-year-olds, loves his tattoos and one on his ankle is a picture of the ‘Achilles heel’. For him, it is a reminder of all the hardships his family had to endure over the last decade to achieve his dream of cricket. For Reddy, becoming a cricketer was both a choice and a compulsion. He wanted to do something for his parents, who with their tears and sweat made his dream of India come true. The middle class family gambled with their finances to enable Reddy to soar. The risks taken and losses suffered will no longer worry them.

“Being included in the Indian team is a proud feeling but it is only 50 per cent of the dream. It will be fulfilled when I can wear this jersey and win matches for my country,” an emotional Reddy had told PTI in June this year.

“I want to see the respect for my father in the eyes of those who once tore him to pieces because they believed in my talent.” The first test clay celebration in the style of Amarendra Bahubali was a tribute to his father Mutyala , who watched his son save India from the stands behind the team’s dugout.

The journey was not just that of Reddy, but also that of his father’s sacrifices and his belief that his son was special.

As a 12-year-old, Reddy heard his relatives cursing his father for losing money in his microfinance business after he took voluntary retirement from Hindustan Zinc.

He chose not to be posted to Udaipur as he knew the city did not have the facilities and training to help his son excel as a cricketer.

He invested the payout of Rs 20 lakh to start his business. However, his friends who took a loan from him never repaid the amount, resulting in massive losses.

“I could hear these discussions, even as a 12-year-old. I understood everything. It was a promise I made to myself that only one thing could redeem my father’s reputation – a draft to India,” Reddy had said then.

Back then he could only afford one bat a year (a good, seasoned English willow bat cost around 15,000 back then, today it’s almost 50,000 for international players).

“I can’t tell you how happy I am,” Mutyala said, struggling to express his emotions as he stood outside the MCG following his son’s recession.

“Virat sir told him to work hard,” he said.

A few years ago, Reddy was named the best U-16 cricketer by the BCCI and attended the annual awards ceremony in Bengaluru.

The entire Indian team was present and the 14-year-old was keen to take a selfie with Kohli and his wife Anushka, who were waiting near the hotel elevator.

Kohli was in a hurry but obliged and it became a memorable moment for the young Reddy. Now it is an unforgettable memory for him to be praised by his idol for his efforts.

Reddy’s family also cannot thank former Andhra Cricket Association chief MSK Prasad enough for enrolling him in the state-of-the-art academy in Visakhapatnam.

“First he was accepted into our U-14 academy, which was far away from his hometown. However, his parents encouraged him to pursue his dreams and he made steady progress in our academies. Nitish eventually secured a place in the Indian U-19 team. “He is proving his mettle and determination,” Prasad told PTI recently.

In 2023, Reddy secured a place in India’s Emerging Asia Cup team but was eliminated after a few games. The squad included players like Yash Dhull and Nishant Sindhu, who are far from national recognition.

There are certain events that change the course of a career and the Emerging Asia Cup made him realize that he needs to think outside the box to make his mark at the international level. “I started spending more time at the nets and also hired a few sidearm (drop) specialists available in Vizag and practiced for a month.

“They all threw the ball at 145 clicks and I found it difficult at first. By the end of the month I got used to it. This exercise benefited me a lot when I played IPL this season where I was able to hit sixes,” he had said .

His SRH captain Pat Cummins may be smiling quietly and thinking out loud about why he told Reddy that he has the potential to play for India and develop into a good all-rounder.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir also deserves credit for hiring Reddy Down Under after seeing his heroics in a T20 series against Bangladesh.

It was a leap of faith and Reddy is now the ‘find of the series’ for India.

On Christmas Day, when everyone was worried about India’s combination, Sanjay Manjrekar had asked, “Will India get a better balance by leaving out Reddy?” On Saturday, one of Reddy’s sponsors, a popular sports equipment and apparel brand, tweeted Manjrekar with the picture of the cricketer and asked the cricket expert to keep quiet.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)