Hanuma Vihari hails SRH’s All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy
HYDERABAD:Â Nitish Kumar Reddy announced his arrival in IPL 2024 on Friday night by smashing winning six (14 of 8 balls) against defending champions Chennai Super Kings. Reddy is an Indian cricketer who plays domestically for Andhra Pradesh and is currently with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Finally, a Telugu player in the playing 11 of SRH after Tirumalsetty Suman, Venugopal Rao, Ashish Reddy, Hanuma Vihari etc.
Following the match, Indian batter Hanuma Vihari praised the youngster as next big thing in Indian cricket.
https://twitter.com/Hanumavihari/status/1776314193567727759?t=0m27zrS4y6R4wparQJhLXg&s=19
Vihari also said suggested that Reddy is a better bowler than most seam-bowling all-rounders in the country.
Reddy has been with SRH since the previous season. He made his debut in IPL 2023 against RCB. His debut is not remarkable as he conceded 19 runs two overs (0/19). And against Mumbai Indians he conceded 35 runs in 3 overs.
Nitish started playing professional cricket in the state level in the year of 2020. since his debut in domestic cricket, he has been good with both ball bat. His consistency grabbed SRH attention and made them buy him in IPL 2023 auction at a base price of 20 lakh rupees.
He is a right arm medium-fast bowler and right-handed batsman. His all-round ability made him special among other players.
“He’s a better bowler than all other except Hardik. I’ve captained him in Andhra and seen him grow. So, I know a bit,” Vihari added.
Domestic cricket
Nitish made his domestic debut in first-class cricket for Andhra against Kerala on January 27, 2020. And his debut in List A cricket against Vidarbha in Indore on February 20, 2021, in Vijay Hazare Trophy. In T20 cricket he made his debut against Jammu and Kashmir in Vadodara on November 04, 2021, in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Nitish Kumar was 15 years old when he first came close to his idol Virat Kohli at BCCI annual awards function in July 2018. He wanted to get a picture with Virat, which didn’t happen. “The bodyguards got in the way, and I could not meet him,” said Nitish. To his surprise, Virat’s wife Anushka Sharma, had spotted him. “She came up to me and said, “It’s ok, I’m going to give you a photo. I felt so happy,” said Reddy.
On the awards evening, he told to one reporter, he hoped to break Kohli’s batting records someday. As he said, in 2017-18 Vijay Merchant Trophy he opened for Andhra, and began the tournament with triple century.
Reddy smashed 441 runs in just 345 balls against Nagaland in Rajkot. He accumulated 1237 runs in just eight innings at a whopping average of 176.41. Which is highest recorded tally in the tournament. This knock fetched him the BCCI ‘Best cricketer in the Under-16’ Jagmohan Dalmiya award for the season 2017-18. Nitish is the first player of Andhra Cricket Association who got the BCCI award.
               Nitish Kumar Reddy with Jagmohan Dalmiya award for Under-16 category in 2017-18
About his father
Nitish Kumar’s father, Mutyala Reddy, left his job at Hindustan Zinc Limited years ago to focus on Nitish’s game.
“I was 12 or 13 years old when my dad quit his job. He was transferred to Udaipur, analyzed 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,” said Nitish.
Personal details
                       Nitish Kumar Reddy with his family
Reddy’s full name is Kaki Nitish Kumar Reddy. Born in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh on May 26, 2003. His father’s name is Mutyala Reddy.
