MATCH STORIES
Follow Us"That was just a glimpse from Nitish. Invest in him. He’s the next big thing not just in franchise cricket. Batter who can bowl medium pace. Rare commodity!" Hanuma Vihari tweeted.
Vihari knows a thing or two about talent in Andhra Pradesh. And when someone of his stature, who has seen the sport's growth in the state, closely says things, it remains said. The talent in the spotlight here is none other than Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Like any other cricket nut, Nitish started playing the sport at five. If it wasn’t for his regular visits to the Hindustan Zinc grounds, his growth as a cricketer would not have been possible. Once his dad realised that there was a spark in his son’s talent, he sacrificed to convert the talent into a career.
“I was 12 or 13 when my dad quit his job. He was transferred to Udaipur. He analysed the cricket there and was afraid of the politics that might affect my game. He quit his job and dedicated his time to my game. Relatives questioned his decisions. He is the first person who believed in me,” Nitish told Sportstar back in 2023.
Over the next few years, he was there at the right place, at the right time, impressing the then-Indian selector MSK Prasad during the U-12 and U-14 matches. Since then, life has moved quite quickly for the Andhra-born all-rounder, who has continually grown in stature.
Nitish was only 15 when he was within touching distance of his idol, Virat Kohli when he was adjudged as the best cricketer in the Under-16s category. He was yet again there in the right place only because of his performances at the right time, in the 2017-18 Vijay Merchant Trophy.
In that trophy, the all-rounder smashed all batting records, opening the batting with a gob-smacking 441 against Nagaland, with his quadruple ton coming off just 345 deliveries. He didn’t end there; the right-hander decimated the opposition, tallying up 1237 runs in the season, averaging 176.41.
It was a tournament record, a feat that is extremely tough to digest. Someone not just averaging so much with the bat but also with the ball, picking up 26 wickets bowling right-arm pace. It is perhaps the perfect record for a prototype all-rounder.
Too good to believe.
Too good to be hecking true.
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Fast forward to 2023, Nitish wasn’t an unknown commodity at the domestic level. Everyone knew his worth, and everyone certainly knew his talent. But it was never at a level that would have earned him an IPL contract.
Until 2023, he had only played five games and only scored 70 runs.
But that year, things improved for good when he amassed 130 runs with his first half-century for Andhra Pradesh in first-class cricket. That’s when Sunrisers decided it was the right time to pick the talented all-rounder in their shed when he was just 19.
“The IPL pick itself has been unbelievable for me. I am looking forward to absorbing as much as possible from the great players. I am not expecting any chances to play this time. But if there is a chance, I will be ready,” Nitish told Sportstar.
At the Sunrisers camp, he got to work closely with the best of both worlds - Brian Lara (head coach) and Dale Steyn (bowling coach) - to improve his skill set. That was reflected in this year’s Ranji Trophy, where he scored 366 runs for Andhra, averaging 36.6, a considerable improvement.
While they didn’t trust him early on in the season, SRH put their faith in the all-rounder, and they reaped the rewards.
Against Punjab Kings on Tuesday (April 9), the all-rounder walked in very early, at 27/2. It was an unfamiliar territory for the Sunrisers, who had just flown past oppositions in the powerplay. But it wasn’t that kind of a wicket here, and that’s where their home-grown talent, Nitish, came to their rescue.
The 20-year-old isn’t the most elegant batter but has a technique well suited for the shortest format of the game, with a pick-up that clears boundaries with relative ease. He was on 14 off 18 to kick-start his innings, but later, as the innings progressed, he showed his power game.
It all started with the over against Harpreet Brar, when he cut it past the square behind point for a four. Then there was a drag on, which he smoked for a six. It was a regular pattern throughout his innings in Mullanpur, with a strike rate of 350 whenever they bowled it on his pads.
But the best bit of his batting came against Kagiso Rabada when he picked up the length so early. Sam Curran wasn’t spared either, with a swivelling six, taking his score to 39 off 26 deliveries, delivering one punch after another.
Something about Brar’s bowling brought out the best of Nitish, who took on the left-arm spinner with a reverse sweep. It wasn’t his first in this season’s IPL; the all-rounder announced himself with a switch-hit against Ravindra Jadeja. Then he ate up a full toss with a 91-metre six, bringing up his maiden IPL half-century.
When he returned to the dressing room, the demolition was already done, with a 37-ball 64, with 38 runs off Brar’s 16 deliveries.
It is not a coincidence that the aggressive batter looks up to Virat Kohli as his idol.
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