NEW DELHI: Bedridden for years, forced to undergo two major surgeries, and even warned by doctors that continuing cricket could leave him paralysed — most cricketers might have walked away and chosen another path. But Abhishek Reddy remained determined to chase his cricketing dreams. Even while lying on a hospital bed, he kept drawing strength from a poster of the great Sachin Tendulkar that read: “Chase your dreams, they do come true.”Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Until recently, hardly anyone knew his story. That changed when the Andhra Pradesh opener smashed a double century (247) in the Ranji Trophy against Jharkhand, powering his team to an innings victory in Jamshedpur and announcing his arrival in style.Reddy began his domestic career with Karnataka in 2015, marking his first-class debut with a composed half-century. But soon after, injuries struck — not once, but twice — threatening to end his career before it truly began.
Now, after years of pain and patience, he is back on his feet — standing tall at the crease once again, stroking his trademark cover drives, and reclaiming the cricketing dream he refused to give up on.“I was just 20 when I made my debut. The flamboyance was there. I was young and there was a lot more fire in me. But the two surgeries broke me badly. I am really happy to be back where I always wanted to be,” Reddy told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview.“I remember getting selected for Karnataka in 2015 and then playing for them and scoring runs. It was a star-studded team with Robin Uthappa, Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey, Karun Nair, Vinay Kumar and many more senior players. It was difficult to make a place of my own, but I managed to do that with my batting. But everything changed in just one year when I underwent surgery in 2016,” he said.
Abhishek Reddy (Pic credit: Special Arrangement)
“The injury happened in 2016. The outfield was wet and soggy, and while fielding, my leg got stuck and I suffered a knee tear and a muscle tear. The second time it happened was in 2023 when I was taking a second run, and again my same foot got stuck in the same spot. I had to undergo surgery again. ACL injuries take months to heal and recover. Those were the years when thoughts of giving up cricket crossed my mind, but I didn’t let those thoughts dominate my dreams,” Reddy said.“Abhimanyu Mithun — my teammate and my friend — was one of the people who helped me during that tough period. I spoke to him a lot while I was injured. He helped me with the mental side of the game,” he said.Reddy was part of the Karnataka Ranji Trophy squad that lifted the title in the 2014–15 season. He represented Karnataka for a few years before eventually moving to Andhra Pradesh, his hometown.Even after his first surgery, the hunger to play and excel never faded. He continued dominating domestic tournaments and earned a place at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in the U-23 setup based on his performances in the C.K. Nayudu Trophy (U-23) — one of India’s most prestigious domestic tournaments for emerging players — during the 2014–15 season. In that tournament, he scored four consecutive centuries: 174 against Tamil Nadu, 116 against Delhi, 115 against Mumbai and 103 against Rajasthan — a streak that firmly established his reputation as a prolific young batter.
Abhishek Reddy (Pic credit: Special Arrangement)
He has featured in 25 first-class matches so far, amassing 1,511 runs. And at 31, he firmly believes there is still plenty of fire left in him to keep chasing — and living — his cricketing dreams. As he puts it, ‘Abhishek Reddy isn’t done yet.’“My mom is from Andhra, and I played all my junior cricket in Karnataka. My father belongs to Karnatakal. Karnataka gave me the foundation, the platform, and the identity I have today. It was my parents’ dream to see me become a cricketer, and I worshipped this game — and I still do,” he said.“When I made my debut, I was around 20. Things would have been very different today if the injuries hadn’t happened. I am 31 now, and I am happy with where I am. I am still the same flamboyant Abhishek Reddy. I am not done yet,” he added.
