“Is Nitish Reddy a batter or bowler?” - Former RCB batter’s brutal remark after whitewash in IND vs SA 2025 Tests

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and India batter Mohammad Kaif has criticized India’s all-rounders, except Ravindra Jadeja, following the team’s 2-0 whitewash against South Africa. After losing the first match in Kolkata by 30 runs, India suffered a heavy 408-run defeat in Guwahati, allowing South Africa to claim their first Test series win in India since 2000.

Since then, India has faced criticism for several issues, including the decision to include multiple all-rounders in the team. In a discussion on his YouTube channel, Kaif pointed out that players like Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy are being labelled all-rounders very early in their careers.

He added that to succeed in this role, a player must first be a specialist, just as Ravindra Jadeja was earlier in his career, focusing initially on bowling before improving his batting. The 44-year-old said that one must first define their specialty and questioned whether Reddy is a batter or a bowler, saying:

“Washington Sundar has just come in and is already being called an all-rounder. Reddy is being called an all-rounder. Becoming an all-rounder takes a lot of time. First you must be a specialist. Tell me clearly, is Nitish Reddy a batter or a bowler? Jadeja has set a great example. Copy him. First bowling, bowling, bowling, then he kept improving his batting, gained experience, played long innings in Ranji, and scored runs.”

“Only then did he become such a good batter that he now scores overseas as well. He plays turning tracks, he defends well, he sweeps well, his game plan is solid. There is no bigger example than Jadeja of how to become an all-rounder. He became the world’s number one Test all-rounder only recently, not earlier. He achieved that in the last few years,” he added.

Jadeja is currently the No. 1 Test all-rounder with 437 rating points. In his 89-Test career so far, the 36-year-old has scored 4,095 runs, including 28 fifties and six centuries, and has taken 348 wickets, including 15 five-wicket hauls.

“This is not something new” - Mohammad Kaif slams KL Rahul for his struggles against spin following the South Africa series

In the same video, Mohammad Kaif also criticized opening batter KL Rahul for his poor showing in the South Africa series. Across four innings, the right-hander managed only 68 runs at an average of 17.00 and was dismissed by spinners on three occasions.

Kaif asserted that the 33-year-old needs to improve his game against spin, adding that his struggles in this area are not new, saying:

“KL Rahul must be disappointed, because the way he got out to spin. He is not getting out to pace, he is getting trapped by Maharaj, the left-arm spinner. After playing for so many years, KL Rahul still needs to improve his game against spin. There is no other option. Remember when he toured Bangladesh? Even there he kept getting stuck against the spinners. He struggles a lot against spin. We know KL Rahul is an opener, but against good-quality spin, the kind that pitches it in the right spot and slows it up slightly, he struggles. He does not get his front foot forward enough. He wants to play with his hands, but when the hard ball turns sharply, you cannot just throw your bat at it.”

“His footwork is very limited and his defense is not strong enough. Look at the ball he got bowled by Harmer, the arm ball. It pitched outside off stump and he pushed his bat forward toward the leg side. That is how he got out. The way KL Rahul is tackling spin is disappointing, and this is not something new. It has been happening for a long time. He got stuck in Bangladesh too. When he went to England, he found seamers, and England’s spinners are not big names, so on good pitches he managed to play fast bowling well. But wherever the ball starts turning, look at KL Rahul’s numbers: they are very ordinary,” he added.

Rahul has played 67 Tests, scoring 4,053 runs at an average of 35.86, including 20 fifties and 11 centuries.