Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan advocated the young Nitish Reddy as the consistent No. 6 for the India Test team. Pathan strongly believes that Reddy has all the spices in his batting needed to make his mark on the international team. It was Reddy's century at Melbourne's first inning alongside Washington Sundar's half century that gave hope that India may win there. After India lost at Sydney by 6 wickets, Pathan spoke to Star Sports, backing Reddy. He said, "You have got an excellent prospect. It's not easy at all for any batter to make his debut in Australia. We might show his century, but he was batting very well before that, he was reaching the 40-run mark regularly. However, when he scored a century, all of us started to feel that we got a player who could bat not at No. 8 or No. 7 but at No. 6. If he can consistently bat at No. 6, I feel he has that potential, India have got a terrific player, who can solve the combination to a large extent." Read also: Watch: Kaif Calls India 'White-Ball Bullies' After BGT Defeat Nitish Reddy, the lower-order batting pillar for India During Nitish Reddy's selection, a lot of speculations happened considering his limited exposure to first-class cricket. Reddy proved them wrong, emerging as a dependable figure in India’s lower order. India needed to win at Melbourne to balance the series. However, the situation looked to go out of hand. Reddy scored 114 runs in the first inning, battling against Australia’s formidable bowling attack, including Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. However, hopes shattered in Melbourne for another batting massacre in the second inning. His contributions weren’t limited to a single match; earlier in the series, he played crucial 40-run knocks in Perth and Adelaide, consistently proving his value. Across the series, Reddy accumulated 294 runs and took three wickets, highlighting his all-round potential. However, as a fourth seamer, he seemed to work more on his skills.