Nitish Kumar Reddy becomes first Andhra fast bowler to lead India’s pace attack

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Nitish Kumar Reddy in action against Afghanistan in the second T20 International at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on September 15, 2026. He took three wickets in the match. File | Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Until a few decades ago, a fast bowler from Andhra Pradesh leading the Indian pace attack in international cricket was a distant dream.

But on Sunday (September 27, 2026), Nitish Kumar Reddy, 23, from Gajuwaka, a suburb of Visakhapatnam, became the first fast bowler from Andhra to head the Indian pace attack. Opening the bowling alongside Prasidh Krishna, he shared the new ball for the match.

Though he leaked 18 runs in his very first over, he bounced back strongly to bowl the final over. In the last over, usually the one batters slog in, he conceded just seven runs and also took the wicket of Matthew Forde.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐊 𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐘𝐀 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐌 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐀 𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐒 𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐊𝐔𝐌𝐀𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐃𝐘 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐕𝐄 🇮🇳With Hardik's place in India's playing XI for next year's World Cup looking increasingly uncertain, Nitish has been given the opportunity to make a case… pic.twitter.com/0riPWzDK2n

This performance reflected the confidence his captain and the Indian team management have in him.

Even counting undivided Andhra Pradesh, Nitish is the first player from the State to achieve this honour. Former international Abid Ali and current star Mohammed Siraj both represented Hyderabad.

Beginning his career as a net bowler for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) during the 2021 IPL season, Nitish has steadily moved up the ladder. After making his IPL breakthrough in 2023 for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at a base price of ₹20 lakh, he never looked back. He shot into the limelight in 2024, winning the IPL Emerging Player of the Year Award, and was later retained by SRH for ₹6 crore.

Many experts feel that Nitish can form a formidable all-rounder pair alongside Hardik Pandya.

“He has proven himself as an all-rounder in almost all formats of the game, including Test matches, highlighted by his century against Australia in Australia during his debut series,” said K. Parthasarathi, a former Ranji player and international umpire, and Secretary of the Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association.

Inducted primarily as a batting all-rounder, Nitish has evolved rapidly as a bowler over the years.

Originally a classic ‘chip off the old block’ medium-pacer relying on a traditional stump-to-stump line and late out-swing, he has significantly elevated his pace. While he may not be a tearaway speedster like Mayank Yadav, his speed has picked up and is now consistently in the 135 to 140 kmph range.

He underwent biomechanical overhauls to refine his action and run-up under the guidance of top experts in the business, including high-performance fast-bowling consultant Steffan Jones, his SRH skipper Pat Cummins and Indian fast-bowling coach Morne Morkel.

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