Seven days. Two large steps of change. 10 behind-the-scenes sessions and a few drills he would hold dear moving forward.
Shortly before the IPL 2026 season began, a week in Bengaluru may have just changed the trajectory of Nitish Kumar Reddy’s bowling prospects.
There are only two wickets to show for now, but a rapid spurt in speed – gaining up to six miles per hour in seven days – has resulted in rekindled confidence with the ball. Nitish’s IPL uptick will be closely monitored by the Indian team management, which has earmarked the 22-year-old as a preferred seam all-rounder option across formats.
Nitish, who had a limited bowling presence in the IPL last year – only five overs – shone in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s first win of this season with figures of 2/17 against Kolkata Knight Riders. “I wanted to work on my bowling, but it’s just the injuries which I went through last year. Thankfully, I got a little bit of time before the season, and I did pretty well in one week of training with a specific person,” the Andhra all-rounder said after the win.
English influence
That person was Steffan Jones, the renowned English fast-bowling coach who has worked with multiple Indian stars in the past through his brainchild PaceLab academy, including the current SRH bowling coach Varun Aaron.
A direct social media text prompted Jones to fly down to Bengaluru. “Nitish got in touch with me through Instagram, and I stopped by for a week before the IPL. We did a seven-day camp with him. Just one-to-one training, involving a mixture of lots of bowling, lots of drill work and some strength work,” Jones told The Indian Express.