- Nitish Kumar Reddy's father met Sunil Gavaskar
- He had seen his son record his first Test ton.
Indian cricket star Nitish Kumar Reddy's father has been captured on video bending down and touching the feet of all-time great Sunil Gavaskar in incredibly emotionally charged scenes at the Boxing Day Test.
Mutalya Reddy had already had one of the best moments of his life at the MCG when he saw his son register his first Test century in India's first innings; He then ran into one of the game's legends behind the scenes.
Reddy was accompanied by his wife and two of his other children when he met Gavaskar, who is now a commentator for Channel Seven after a stellar playing career that saw him score more than 10,000 runs, captain his country and develop a reputation as one of the greatest. opening batsmen ever.
The clip shows Reddy senior taking Gavaskar's hands in his before kneeling down, holding his shoes and bowing his head towards the ground.
Gavaskar initially and gently tries to stop him from bowing, then takes Mutalya's hands and hugs him once he stands up.
Bowing down to elders and touching their feet is a traditional sign of respect and admiration in India.
Nitish Kumar Reddy's father Mutalya (left) is seen meeting Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar (right) at the MCG during the Boxing Day Test.
Mutalya (left) is pictured with his son, star Indian batsman Nitish Kumar Reddy, who scored his first Test century against Australia at the MCG.
The heartwarming moment touched cricket fans, but while the vast majority were happy with the clip, some criticized Reddy's display.
'Really touching! A meeting between generations of cricketing excellence: Nitish's family with legend Sunil Gavaskar. Moments like these make cricket so special,” wrote one on X.
“Honor and respect true Indian traits…not seen too often these days,” another commented.
'What a beautiful family and what a great sports story. They deserve everything they can get for the sacrifices they have made for Nitish. I love the respect they show. “Shows they are truly grateful,” another added.
'What class and dignity from the family and from Sunny. Says a lot about this sport in India,” wrote 3AW radio star Neil Mitchell.
However, others were not as impressed.
'Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, along with the 83 world cup winning team, are on a different pedestal for Cricket India. We love you and treasure you deep in our hearts. BUT seeing NKR's father doing that, even out of deepest respect and Gavaskar accepting the same, is 'thoda nahi', very exaggerated,” wrote a fan.
'Cricket players are men. Stop treating them like gods,” said another.
Gavaskar became emotional when talking about Reddy's century after giving the youngster a standing ovation in the commentary booth.
“I'm pretty sure this will be the first of many hundreds,” Gavaskar said.
'What a find this young man has been for Indian cricket. Magnificent entries, fantastic temperament.
Gavaskar (pictured) was obviously touched by Reddy's gesture when they met.
The former Indian captain couldn't praise Reddy enough after his maiden ton (pictured) helped his team turn the tide against the Aussies in Melbourne.
'Fantastic stuff, young man. Keep going, keep going!
Reddy's first Test ton came off 171 balls, when he reached his milestone under gloomy skies and with the threat of rain lingering.
The talented 21-year-old was almost stranded on 99 but number 11 Mohammed Siraj (2no) survived four tense deliveries from Australia captain Pat Cummins to recover the strike.
After India was still in danger of missing the next target of 275 as they began the third day at 5-164, Reddy and Washington Sundar took advantage of a flat pitch and a tiring Australian bowling attack.
Reddy has been a revelation for India since his debut in the first match of the Border-Gavaskar series in Perth.
The regular number 8 was India's top series scorer at the time of writing, with 284 runs at an average of 71 as he began his Test career.
He trails only Australian star Travis Head (409) for most runs by any batsman in the series.