Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has picked Nitish Kumar Reddy’s performances as one of the biggest positives for Sunrisers Hyderabad after their IPL 2026 season came to a close. SRH were knocked out of the tournament after suffering a 47-run loss against RR at New Chandigarh in the Eliminator contest on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Reddy returned with impressive figures of 1-12 in two overs he bowled when the opposition smashed 243 runs. Furthermore, he scored a decent knock of 38 runs off 20 balls against RR.
Reddy scored 302 runs in 13 innings at an average of 30.20 and picked eight wickets in 14 matches of IPL 2026. Thus, he impressed with his all-round performances.
Chopra hailed SRH’s top four batters – Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen – for their impressive performances.
“If we look at the positives, another good season for Abhishek Sharma, another middling season for Travis Head, another amazing season for Ishan Kishan, and followed by Heinrich Klaasen. They were probably the best top four of this tournament because no one performed as well at No. 4. He was the differentiator,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“However, Nitish Kumar Reddy. I think that was brilliant. The kind of season he has had with ball and bat, he is going absolutely toe to toe with Hardik Pandya. He is screaming that he should be given more chances. I thought Nitish Kumar Reddy was a beautiful story this season,” he added.
The renowned commentator praised Pat Cummins and Ishan Kishan’s captaincy. He also hailed Sakib Hussain, who bagged 15 wickets in 11 matches of IPL 2026.
“Pat Cummins’ captaincy and Ishan Kishan’s captaincy, it worked out very well together. Sakib was a huge plus. He is an incredible bowler. He has the temperament. He has a quick arm action. He has the ability to bowl the right ball in T20s, and if there is even slight help on the pitch, his slower one is one of the most deceptive,” he said.
The former Delhi cricketer said Praful Hinge needs to work on his bowling but praised Shivang Kumar and Ehsan Malinga.
“Praful Hinge in patches. He is a little more work in progress when I see these two youngsters. Shivang Kumar’s left-arm spin was one big positive. Eshan Malinga is one of the best. Wonderful addition. Whenever he took two wickets, they didn’t lose a single game this year. He was that important to their campaign,” Chopra observed.
SRH will look to bounce back strongly in IPL 2027.
