Nitish Reddy Credits 'Special Person' for Bowling Transformation, Says Will 'Reveal Identity Later'

Kolkata:Sunrisers Hyderabad's India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has credited a "special person" for helping him rediscover his rhythm with the ball after a difficult, injury-hit phase but chose to keep the identity under wraps for now.The 22-year-old all format player, who has been seen as a potential successor to India's premier pace-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya, has had his progress stalled by recurring fitness issues over the past year.

Multiple setbacks including a neck spasm, a left quadriceps injury in 2025 meant he missed crucial game time in the build-up to the 2026 T20 World Cup, where Shivam Dube eventually got the nod as the second seam-bowling all-rounder.

Reddy admitted that injuries had held him back from improving his bowling.

"It's always been a point that I wanted to work on my bowling, but it's just the injuries which I have gone through last year, I was not pretty sure that I didn't get the time to work on myself," Reddy said after being adjudged player-of-the-match in their win over Kolkata Knight Riders in an IPL match here on Thursday.

"But thankfully, I got a little bit of time for myself before the season and yeah, I did pretty good in one week training with a specific person. So, that really helped and makes sense whatever he had said to me. So, it's going good now."

Asked about the identity of that "special person", the soft-spoken all-rounder just smiled and said: "I will do that later on."

The impact of that short but focused preparation was evident on Thursday as Reddy delivered a fine all-round performance -- scoring 39 off 24 balls and returning with 2/17 from his two overs -- to help SRH thrash Kolkata Knight Riders by 65 runs and secure their first win of the season.

Coming in at a tricky stage with SRH at 118/4 after a mini-collapse, Reddy stitched a crucial 82-run stand for the sixth wicket with Heinrich Klaasen (52), rebuilding the innings after a blazing start from Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma.

With the bowl, he bowled two crucial overs 12th and 14th and picked up two wickets.

One of them was the dangerous KKR vice-captain Rinku Singh with a well-executed slower ball, a delivery he described as one of his "strengths".

Reddy said he read the "two-paced" wicket while batting and adapted accordingly and used the slow ball to greater impact.

"It's just when I batted, I honestly thought that wicket is a bit too paced because when bowlers try to bowl slow bouncers, sometimes it's sticking and sometimes it's just rushing to the batsman.

"So, I thought why not give it a try for the slower ones and that's what I actually did and I got Rinku's wicket because it actually rushed to the bat and that's when I got the edge. It's just one of my strengths, the slower one. So, I just utilised that one," he said.

Reddy also highlighted how SRH adjusted their bowling plans early on, bringing in spin into play after the pacers proved expensive in the powerplay.

"Because KKR bowlers who have bowled the seamers just leaked a little bit of runs in the opening 6 overs, so, we thought why not spinners? The wicket is too paced and we thought that if it grips a little bit for the spinners, it will go well and you can see Harsh got the wicket of Finn Allen. So, that's what the process has been."

"You have to respect the conditions and you have to change your plans according to the wicket. So, that's what Ishan has done," he said.

Reddy also spoke about the influence of Klaasen, crediting the experienced South African for guiding him through a tricky phase in their partnership.

"I really enjoy playing with Klaasen because he is such an experienced player that he reads the situation well no matter what he has been doing," he said.

"But he gives you that edge of the thoughts where you can actually put into your game and you can continue in that particular situation. Because I know I am just young and he has been there in the T20s and he has been successfully there. So, sometimes you just have to listen to a senior who has been already there in that situation."

Despite perceptions that SRH's bowling lacks big names, Reddy strongly defended their attack and said it's far more effective than it appears on paper.

"There are experienced players like Jaydev Unadkat and Ehsan Mallinga who are doing really good. And (David) Payne, who's been doing very good. So, I don't think we're having a big bowling side.

"It's just that the brand of cricket we've been playing, the scores that we have put on the scoreboard, you guys are thinking the batting is so strong. But equally, I would rate my bowling team as well," he said.

"Especially when you're playing in Hyderabad, those wickets are pretty flat and you should appreciate the bowlers who have been bowling in those flat wickets because it's never an easy thing to do in those situations," he concluded.