Nitish Kumar Reddy, India's find of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, climbed the ancient footsteps path to Tirumala that starts from Alipiri in the Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh on his knees. The all-rounder shared the video of his spiritual journey on his Instagram story late on Monday night.
In the video, which has now gone viral, Nitish Kumar Reddy was seen climbing the stairs on his knees, using his hands to pull through his body. In another photo, Nitish was seen standing in the footsteps of the temple with a big smile on his face.
According to popular belief, devotees take this path to reach Tirumala on foot from Tirupati to fulfil their vows. It consists of 3550 Steps, covering a distance of 12 km.
Nitish shines in Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Nitish's performance was one of the bright spots in an otherwise disappointing outing for India in Australia, where they lost 1-3. The 21-year-old, who had no prior red-ball experience at his level, played all five Tests in Australia and emerged as one of India's highest scorers despite batting as low as No.8 for the most part.
{{/usCountry}}Nitish's performance was one of the bright spots in an otherwise disappointing outing for India in Australia, where they lost 1-3. The 21-year-old, who had no prior red-ball experience at his level, played all five Tests in Australia and emerged as one of India's highest scorers despite batting as low as No.8 for the most part.
{{/usCountry}}Nitish made a significant impact in the series by scoring 298 runs, achieving an impressive average of 37.25, which positioned him as India's second-highest scorer.
His standout performance came at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where he celebrated his first Test century with a remarkable 114 runs. This achievement was particularly memorable, as it occurred during a challenging period for the Indian batting lineup, and was made even more special by the presence of his family—his father Mutyalu Reddy, mother Manasa, sister Tejaswi, and uncle Surendra—who witnessed the milestone in such a legendary setting.
In addition to his batting prowess, Nitish also contributed with the ball, taking five wickets across 44 overs, with his best figures being 2 for 32.
Nitish's exploits in Australia earned him an easy passage to India's T20I squad for the five-match series against England, starting January 22.