Nitish Kumar Reddy, the IPL 2024 Emerging Player of the Year, recounted his first interaction with SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain Pat Cummins. According to Reddy, the Australian cricketer surprised him with the depth of his research and genuine appreciation for Reddy’s talent.

The 21-year-old cricketer had an impressive outing, scoring 303 runs and taking 3 wickets. However, he revealed that Cummins, the team’s skipper, had not seen him bat or bowl during the practice games, as Nitish had joined the SRH camp just three days before the start of IPL 2024. Eager to make a strong impression, Nitish was hoping to showcase his skills to the skipper.

“Nitish, you’re playing very well and I was stunned, wondering how he knew about my batting since he hadn’t seen me. I asked him, and Pat said he had seen my batting videos on YouTube and appreciated my talent. I was pumped,” Nitish remarked to News18 CricketNext.

Reddy flourished under Cummins’ guidance, who maximized his contributions with both bat and ball. Reddy played a pivotal role in SRH’s run to the final, but his standout performance may have been his match-winning 64 (37) against Punjab Kings early in the season, where he singlehandedly led his team to victory despite a collapse at the other end.

“I had been meticulously planning for this innings over a period of time. When the opportunity arose, I ensured that I delivered a pivotal performance. My strategy was to patiently build my innings, closely observing how the spinners were bowling and devising a plan to counter them effectively. Despite being in a challenging situation with three wickets down, taking on those conditions boosted my confidence tremendously,” he added.

Nitish’s impressive outing earned him a spot on India’s tour of Zimbabwe. Unfortunately, a hernia injury forced him to withdraw from the five-match T20I series. Nitish will now look to secure a call-up for India’s upcoming tour of Sri Lanka in August.