James Franklin has backed Nitish Kumar Reddy to keep driving Sunrisers Hyderabad’s push in the playoffs, praising the allrounder ahead of Wednesday’s eliminator against Rajasthan Royals at Mullanpur.
Franklin said Reddy has been central to SRH’s season, pointing to a stronger bowling workload, a deeper batting role and a run of finishing cameos that have helped tilt games late in innings. The former New Zealand allrounder said Reddy did significant work on his bowling before the season and has since been used both with the new ball and through the middle overs. He added that Reddy has mainly batted at number five this year, often coming in with six or seven overs left, and that his contribution has been immense.
The numbers support that view. Reddy, who was the Emerging Player of the Season in 2024, finished that campaign with 303 runs in 11 innings, including two fifties, and three wickets. His IPL 2025 season was quieter, with 182 runs at an average of 22.75 and two wickets. This year, he has answered back with 264 runs in 12 innings at 29.33 and a strike rate of 169.23, along with seven wickets at 44.42 and a best of 2/17.
Franklin said the contrast with last year mattered, noting that Reddy had taken learnings from a season in which he did not start the way he wanted and had arrived under added expectation after recently being involved with India. He said the response has been clear this time, with Reddy producing valuable bursts at the death and operating at a strike rate of 215.87 in overs 16 to 20, the third-highest among Indian batters this season behind Tilak Varma’s 256.66 and Rajat Patidar’s 249.12.
That blend of power hitting and utility bowling is what has made Reddy such a difficult player to manage for opponents. Franklin described him as a wonderful athlete — strong, fast and dynamic — and said he is exceptionally professional in the way he looks after himself away from the field. For SRH, that profile matters now more than ever: the winner in Mullanpur advances to face Gujarat Titans for the second spot in the final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, while the loser goes home.
Reddy’s season has already shown how quickly a player can move from a difficult year to a decisive one. On Wednesday, SRH will be asking him to do it again, in a match that leaves no room for recovery.
