Introduction
Kaki Nitish Kumar Reddy (Telugu: కాకి నితీష్ కుమార్ రెడ్డి; born 26 May 2003) is an Indian cricketer who plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. He was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs.20 Lakh, in the 2023 Indian Premier League auction. He made his T20I debut on 6 October 2024. He made his first-class debut on 27 January 2020, for Andhra in the 2019–20 Ranji Trophy. He made his List A debut on 20 February 2021, for Andhra in the 2020–21 Vijay Hazare Trophy. He made his Twenty20 debut on 4 November 2021, for Andhra in the 2021–22 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Nitish made his Test cricket debut for India on 22 November 2024 during the 2024-25 Border–Gavaskar Trophy.
Early life and career
Nitish Kumar Reddy was born on 26 May 2003 in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, and is the son of former Hindustan Zinc employee Mutyala Reddy.
Nitish started playing cricket at the age of 5 with a plastic bat and would regularly visit the Hindustan Zinc grounds to watch seniors play cricket. With support from his father, who quit his job when he was transferred to Udaipur, to help his son pursue a cricket career, Nitish visited VDCA camps and initially trained under coaches Kumara swamy, Krishna Rao and Watekar.
Nitish said of his father's decision : "I was 12 or 13 when my dad quit his job. He was transferred to Udaipur. He analysed the cricket there and was afraid of the politics that might affect my game. He quit his job and dedicated his time to my game. Relatives questioned his decisions. He is the first person who believed in me”.
Nitish was spotted by former Indian Cricketer and selector MSK Prasad during Under-12 and Under-14 age group matches and got picked up to train in the ACA academy in Kadapa under the coaching of Madhusudhana Reddy and Srinivasa Rao.
He followed this up with a trailblazing season scoring 441 against Nagaland, the quadruple ton coming in just 345 deliveries and ending up with 1237 runs at an average of 176.41, a tournament record, along with 26 wickets in the 2017-18 Vijay Merchant Trophy.This fetched him the BCCI ‘Best Cricketer in the Under -16’ Jagmohan Dalmiya award for the season 2017–2018. Nitish is the first player of Andhra Cricket Association who got the BCCI award.
International Career
Nitish made his Test debut for India on November 22 2024, in Perth, during the Border–Gavaskar Trophy.