Indian assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate gave an honest assessment in the wake of India’s defeat in the second ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday in Rajkot. Doeschate spoke candidly on all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy’s performances while also flagging concerns about captain Rohit Sharma’s match readiness.

Reddy, who was the only change in India’s playing XI for the second ODI against New Zealand, replacing Washington Sundar, who was ruled out due to injury, endured a disappointing outing. Given an opportunity, Reddy managed only 20 runs off 21 deliveries. He had the opportunity to strengthen his case but struggled to get going, failing to seize the given chance.

"With Nitish, we keep talking about developing him and getting him game time and then when you do get him game time, he often ends up not doing a heck of a lot in the games," ten Doeschate said while talking to media after the match.

"For someone who's making their way, particularly with the bat tonight, tonight was that perfect chance where you're walking in that situation, and you've got a chance to spend 15 overs at the wicket. You really have to take those chances to push your case to be selected," he said.

Doeschate also addressed the situation of Rohit Sharma. Ahead of the New Zealand ODIs, Rohit had featured in two Vijay Hazare Trophy matches, but the coach believed that Rohit remained “short on cricket”. 

"Rohit, I thought tonight particularly, both innings was a real new-ball wicket. It didn't look easy to bat. Over a short period of time, if you take the first ODI, he's not been as fluent as he has been, and that's going to be a challenge for him, not playing cricket between series," ten Doeschate said.

"I don't think it's a conscious approach. He's such a brutal player, but he's actually a touch player at the end of the day. He times the ball... so as soon as the wickets aren't very good, it's going to be difficult for him to look in fluent mode like he normally is," he said.

"He's definitely not the sort of guy to play for himself. It's just a combination of the wickets being slightly difficult and maybe just being a little bit short on cricket leading into the series." Ten Doeschate said given the form KL Rahul is in, he could be sent in at No 5," he noted.