Nitish Kumar Reddy’s 2026 IPL has been a neat reminder that last season’s numbers rarely tell the full story. In 2025 the all-rounder scraped together 182 runs in 11 knocks at a strike rate under 120, his bowling trimmed back because of a sore shoulder. Twelve months on he is operating quicker through the air, clearing the ropes with freedom, and – crucially for Sunrisers Hyderabad – slotting into the middle-to-lower order role that was missing a year ago.
Speaking in New Chandigarh on the eve of Wednesday’s Eliminator against Rajasthan Royals, SRH pace-bowling coach James Franklin kept the praise straightforward. “Yeah I think last year Nitish probably took a lot of learnings from IPL 2025 and there were a few things, form he didn’t start exactly how it wanted to for him,” Franklin said. “Obviously there might have been a bit more expectation with having just recently been involved with India. I think he would have taken a lot of learnings from last year’s IPL. So to come into this year, he’s done quite a bit of work on his bowling.”
Those bowling tweaks have allowed captain Aiden Markram to use Reddy at either end of the innings. Early doors he can skid the new ball on; later, his brisk cross-seamers break up partnerships. “He’s been utilised opening the bowling, he’s been utilised in the middle depending on what we foresee being the best match-up for him to enter the game,” Franklin noted.
With the bat the shift has been just as clear. For the first two games of 2026 Reddy turned out at No. 4 – a carry-over from last season – but the coaching group soon nudged him down to five or six. The result: a strike rate of 215.87 in overs 16-20, third among Indian batters behind Tilak Varma and Rajat Patidar. He does not yet have the bulk runs of a finisher like Dinesh Karthik, yet the tempo has supplied SRH with the closing surge they missed in 2025.
Franklin put the hitting down to Reddy’s frame and the behind-the-scenes graft that supporters rarely see. “I think if you look at Nitish, physically he’s a wonderful athlete – strong, fast, dynamic, obviously being an allrounder as well he’s fairly involved in games,” he said. “But away from the actual playing surface, he’s incredibly professional with how he looks after himself, so I think he gives himself every chance to be in the best possible position to have that power and he trains it.”
Preparation has also become more scenario-based. “I think his preparation throughout this IPL, particularly from a batting point of view has been very much geared around understanding that he’s most likely to come in with four or five overs, six overs to go and probably at times have to maybe have to hit a six first ball so we’ve seen that throughout this season… So at the moment, sort of observing and watching him throughout this IPL, it definitely feels like he’s got a real understanding of what he needs to do,” Franklin added.
From Reddy’s own perspective – he has spoken only briefly during the tournament – the focus has been on rhythm rather than numbers. Those inside the SRH camp say his bowling speeds now hover close to 140kph, up from the mid-130s last year. The batting hand-speed drills, often carried out alongside head coach Daniel Vettori, are designed to mimic slog-overs chaos: wide yorkers, slower-ball bouncers, fielders crowding the rope. Teammates reckon the sessions are “loud and sweaty”, but clearly they are making a difference once the floodlights come on.
None of this guarantees a long playoff run. The margins are tight, the Royals have Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal, and a single miscued slog could end a season. What Franklin likes, though, is the resilience shown after a middling 2025. “So, his contribution for us this year has been immense and I think all of us in the group are really, really pleased for him particularly after a season maybe last year where it was a bit more of a struggle for him. He’s really bounced back this year,” he said.
That bounce-back, built on a stronger body and a clearer role, gives SRH the balance they hunted for but never quite found 12 months ago. If Reddy nails a yorker first over and a straight six at the death on Wednesday, the turnaround will feel complete.
