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Nitish Kumar Reddy announced his arrival in IPL 2024 last night by scoring 14 runs off just eight balls against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the all-rounder came out to bat at number six and finished off the run-chase in style by smacking a maximum off Deepak Chahar's bowling.
Not many fans would know that Nitish Kumar Reddy has been with the Sunrisers Hyderabad since the previous season. In fact, he made his IPL debut for SRH against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium last year itself. He had a forgettable debut, where he conceded 19 runs in two overs.
In the next game against Mumbai Indians, Reddy returned with figures of 0/35 in three overs. Last night in Hyderabad, captain Pat Cummins did not ask him to bowl any overs, but the pacer has improved over the last 12 months and should do a better job with the ball if given the chance in IPL 2024.
Before Nitish Kumar Reddy establishes himself as a top all-rounder for Sunrisers Hyderabad, here are five things which fans should know about him.
#1 Sunrisers Hyderabad signed Nitish Kumar Reddy at his base price
Reddy was one of the many uncapped Indian players who registered for the IPL 2023 Auction at a base price of ₹20 lakh. Sunrisers Hyderabad were the only franchise that showed interest in Reddy's services.
The Orange Army snapped him up for ₹20 lakh last year and retained him for the same amount in IPL 2024. He can prove to be one of the top value-for-money picks this season.
#2 Nitish Kumar Reddy has gone through the first-class grind
While most of the T20 stars avoid playing red-ball cricket these days, 20-year-old Nitish Kumar Reddy has already played 17 first-class matches. He has aggregated 566 runs in 28 innings and scalped 52 wickets in the 2,222 balls that he has bowled.
Notably, Reddy has recorded one century and two five-wicket hauls in his short first-class career so far. He can be a Test player for India in the future.
#3 Virat Kohli is Reddy's idol
Like many youngsters, Reddy grew up idolizing Virat Kohli. The Sunrisers Hyderabad youngster luckily got a chance to bowl against Kohli on his IPL debut.
After the match against RCB last year, Kohli posed for a picture with Reddy. The RCB star also wished the youngster luck and signed his bat.
#4 Nitish Kumar Reddy scored a half-century on List-A debut
Apart from T20s and first-class cricket, Reddy also has the experience of playing List-A matches. He started his List-A career for Andhra against Vidarbha in Indore on February 20, 2021.
In his debut game itself, Reddy aggregated 54 runs off 58 balls at number four. He smashed five fours and two sixes, helping Andhra chase down a 332-run target.
#5 Nitish Kumar Reddy bought a car for his family after first IPL season
As mentioned earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad acquired Reddy's services for ₹20 lakh last year. The all-rounder seemingly utilized a major part of his first IPL salary to gift a car to his family.
Almost three months after IPL 2023, Reddy shared a picture with his parents on Instagram. They could be seen receiving the key for the car in the background.
