Meeting Sunil Gavaskar: Nitish Kumar Reddy's Father's Reverent Experience of Doing 'Namaskaram'

When Nitish reached the milestone on Day 3, his father, Mutyalu Reddy, was overwhelmed with emotion as he was seen tearing up in the stands. Shortly after, he was spotted engaging in a conversation with former India captain Sunil Gavaskar. Reflecting on the meeting, the young cricketer's father expressed his admiration for Gavaskar, referring to him as the 'God of cricket'.

Over the years, Nitish's father has made several compromises, even leaving his job to help Nitish pursue his passion—cricket. Hence, it is no surprise that emotions got the better of the entire Reddy family.

During the lunch break on Day 4, Nitish Reddy's father met Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri for a chat. It was then that Mutyalu Reddy touched Gavaskar's feet, leaving the latter overwhelmed.

Speaking about the meeting, Mutyalu Reddy told Indian Express, "We know who we are and where we come from. I come from a small town; no one knows my name if I leave my small region. But today, in Australia, people are asking for selfies. I cannot explain how happy and proud I am. And when I saw Sunil Gavaskar the day after my son hit that hundred, I just couldn’t control myself. I had to do proper namaskaram, touch his feet, and seek his blessings."

'Gavaskar is like the God of cricket'

Nitish's father said that if his son was there with him, he would have asked him to touch the feet of Sunil Gavaskar. He also recalled the experiences of watching Sunil Gavaskar and clapping on every boundary he scored.

"Gavaskar is like the god of cricket. Be it Sachin Tendulkar or Gavaskar or MSK Prasad or Rahul Dravid everyone sees them like god. The moment I saw him, it felt like I had seen god, so I asked for his blessings. I touched his feet and asked for the blessings; even if my son was here, I would have asked him to touch his feet. When he used to hit a boundary, I used to clap and now today talking about my son, he had tears in his eyes! I broke down," he said.

Speaking further, Mutyalu Reddy said, "After all, what is the name of the trophy? (Border Gavaskar Trophy) When you meet such legends, and if you don’t bend to touch their feet, it will look like we are egoistic. Gavaskar sir said, “You have given a good boy to Indian cricket; he is playing well and has the stability to play in all the formats. And I want to see more 100s from him”.

Nitish Kumar Reddy is currently India's highest run-scorer in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He has quietly emerged as the find of the series for the visitors.

It is his hundred that has kept India alive in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. A thrilling Day 5 is on the cards as Australia have extended their lead to more than 330 runs in Melbourne with Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland still at the crease.

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