Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra questioned Sunrisers Hyderabad for not utilizing Nitish Kumar Reddy with the bat after they suffered a six-wicket loss against Punjab Kings at New Chandigarh on Saturday.

Reddy, who has been in good form with the bat in IPL 2026, batted at number seven against the home team. The right-hander faced only delivery and failed to get off the mark.

The all-rounder has scored 96 runs in four matches of the ongoing season at an average of 32 and a strike rate of 150.

“The SunRisers Hyderabad’s flawed tactic needs to be spoken about. What was Nitish Kumar Reddy doing in the dugout? Are you guys not thinking? What is your plan for Nitish Kumar Reddy? What do you want to do? The boy has been scoring runs. You sent Aniket and Salil ahead of him,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.

“You sent him for one ball in the end. What is the point? Don’t people think about what is happening and whether they are doing the right thing? Was no one sitting there who could tell them what’s right? He wasn’t unfit. He came and bowled as well. So it was totally beyond my understanding what Hyderabad were trying to do there,” he added.

Chopra showered praise on SRH opener Abhishek Sharma, who scored a stunning knock of 74 runs off just 28 balls. The left-hander smashed five fours and eight sixes in his blistering knock to help SRH post 219 runs on the board.

“Abhishek Sharma had the most runs against this team. He said he likes Mullanpur and this team, and he likes hitting, so he kept hitting. He completed his half-century in the powerplay probably for the first time. The team scored 105 runs in the powerplay. Abhishek was playing very well. Travis Head was seen playing slightly 50-50,” he observed.

Sunrisers Hyderabad will next take on Rajasthan Royals at Hyderabad on Monday.