Nitish Kumar Reddy’s absence against Kolkata Knight Riders forced the Sunrisers Hyderabad into an unsuccessful middle-order reshuffle. However, Daniel Vettori’s side is set for a timely boost with the return of the all-rounder, who appeared in fine touch during Wednesday’s training session.
“Every team has that player who makes selection quite straightforward. Against KKR, we picked Smaran Ravichandran as we needed a batter and then had to maneuver around for another seamer. Nitish, much like a Marco Jansen or Marcus Stoinis, offers balance and makes my life a lot easier,” Vettori said ahead of SRH’s clash against the Punjab Kings.
The New Zealander acknowledged that the Kings will pose a familiar challenge, especially if their explosive opening pair gets going.
“They’re top of the table for a reason. In a lot of ways, they’re like us – very aggressive with the bat, and then they just try and mitigate anything they can with the ball. You’d anticipate a high-scoring game.”
The 47-year-old broke down how his bowlers are dealing with life in a batting-conductive tournament.
“I always put my bowling hat on in these situations and have a lot of concern for them, particularly here where the scores have been so high. But the games at Hyderabad are not about bowling teams out for low scores, but mitigating big overs. In some ways the pressure’s not on them because they know the batsmen are going to be so aggressive. And sometimes one for 40 or one for 42 is a really good day in the context of the game.”
Published on May 05, 2026
