Nitish Kumar Reddy Continues To Build Himself Into India’s Fifth-Bowling Option

Nitish Kumar Reddy has shown tremendous improvements as a bowler. Image Credits: AFPThe only box India failed to tick in the first T20I against Afghanistan was the fifth-bowler issue. In Hardik Pandya’s absence, they relied on three all-rounders - Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube and Abhishek Sharma - to deliver four overs, but the move backfired. They collectively conceded 14.75 runs per over without taking a wicket, allowing Afghanistan a mini recovery after 16 quality overs from the four specialist bowlers.In that sense, it was fitting that there was an improvement in the second game. Dube’s solitary over was still expensive, but Nitish produced a much better bowling performance this time around.He showed some rustiness in the first game, which was understandable given that it was his first competitive outing since returning from yet another injury setback. By the second game, though, he looked much closer to his best, which is hardly surprising considering how much he has improved over the past few months.Nitish Kumar Reddy flexes bowling smartsNitish Kumar Reddy has always had a knack for picking up wickets. As he has progressed, his bowling smarts have developed too – something he has needed to survive on the flat decks India and his IPL team, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), often play on. He’s not as gifted a bowler as Hardik Pandya, and India won’t always use him in his strongest phases, which makes those bowling smarts even more important.They came in handy in New Delhi last night. After yet another sluggish start, Ibrahim Zadran’s eyes lit up at the first sight of India’s fifth bowler, Nitish Kumar Reddy, in the ninth over. He immediately looked to put him under pressure on the first delivery itself. Nitish deliberately bowled back of a length, expecting Ibrahim to go after it, while keeping his line a touch straighter.As anticipated, the batter tried to flick across the line but couldn’t time it properly. The ball went straight into the hands of the fielder at deep midwicket.Also Read: Varun Chakaravarthy Tries To Reinvent Himself Yet AgainNitish’s seam-up deliveries can be particularly deceptive. Ever since working on increasing his pace and sharpening his back-foot landing, which lets him generate more force through his release, he has been hitting the bat harder than batters anticipate.A case in point came in SRH’s fixture against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026. Donovan Ferreira is among the best pace players in T20 cricket, but Nitish managed to cramp him for room with his lengths in Hyderabad. With a slightly older ball just outside the powerplay, he bowled a rising short-of-a-length delivery into Ferreira’s body. The batter was forced to abandon the pull and instead shunted the ball back towards the bowler.Later in the tournament, he also troubled the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sai Sudharsan with his hard lengths. His relatively high-arm release point always generates additional bounce, while his shorter lengths naturally make it harder for batters to get on top of the ball.Last night, the pitch was on the drier side and gripped more than in the first game. That also went in Nitish’s favour, as the back-of-a-length deliveries were stopping into the surface and timing the ball was not easy once the new shine diminished. That also worked in his favour right away.Slower balls to exploit grip on the surfaceApart from working on his pace, Nitish Kumar Reddy has also started using more slower balls to keep batters guessing. He bowled them before too, but with his recent developments, the ball now comes out more sharply. Steffan Jones, who worked with him on his development as a pacer ahead of IPL 2026, encouraged him to bowl more like Jofra Archer, and one of Archer’s salient features is his ability to disguise his leg cutters and back-of-the-hand slower balls.FanCode @FanCode BAPU TARI FIELDING PAN KAMAAL CHE 🔥 NKR ON FIRE TONIGHT with 3-wicket haul 💪 Stream the Afghanistan vs India T20I series LIVE only on FanCode 📲 #AFGvIND Sep 15, 2026, 9:18 PM Nitish doesn’t change his action or arm speed when bowling them and can often get the ball to drift away from right-handers before it dips sharply. He gave a glimpse of that when he dismissed Rashid Khan. The pitch was holding up a little, and Rashid generally prefers pace on the ball.Nitish therefore smartly bowled a leg cutter from back of a length. It gripped and stopped off the surface, leaving Rashid reaching for his swipe across the line. He mistimed it and picked out the fielder at deep square leg.Nitish Kumar Reddy bowled shorter lengths vs RHBsAround 27.77% of Nitish’s deliveries were off-pace, and several of them gripped and deviated significantly. He complemented them by consistently hitting back-of-a-length and shorter lengths, making it difficult for the batters to generate timing while targeting the relatively short square boundaries. Gulbadin Naib was undone by a short-of-good-length delivery too, trying to heave it across the line only to get a top edge after the ball bounced a touch more than expected.Around 83.33% of Nitish’s deliveries were shorter than eight metres, a deliberate ploy based on the conditions and dimensions of the ground. It worked in his favour, with Afghanistan unable to get the better of him as they had in the first game.The importance of Nitish’s bowlingWith the improvements he has made, Nitish Kumar Reddy has emerged as India’s most viable pace-bowling all-round option behind Hardik Pandya. He needs to keep building on those gains, not just with next year’s World Cup in mind but also for the T20Is leading into it. India are unlikely to use Hardik in every T20I as they look to manage his workload and keep him fit for the mega event.That makes Nitish’s development particularly important. India need him to become a bowling option who can also be trusted to bat as a specialist batter. Shivam Dube, despite making some improvements, is still nowhere close to being a reliable pace option. He may pick up the odd wicket, but on faster pitches and against batters who handle pace well, his limitations with the ball can become more pronounced.The other options, such as Suryansh Shedge and Venkatesh Iyer, are not developed enough as bowlers yet. Like Dube, they cannot necessarily be trusted to deliver consistently when the pitch offers little assistance. Harshit Rana is more of a bowling all-rounder, meanwhile, with his batting still developing to the point where he can be relied upon as a specialist batter.FanCode @FanCode Reddy. Steady. Wicket 😮💨 Stream the Afghanistan vs India T20I series LIVE only on FanCode 📲 #AFGvIND Sep 15, 2026, 8:18 PM That leaves Nitish as the most rounded option. He can move the new ball, making him a useful powerplay bowler, while his hard lengths have become more effective now that he is generating greater pace. His bowling is still evolving, but unlike the other options, he has already shown enough attributes to be a genuine two-skill player at international level.If India are to cover the gap created by Hardik’s absence, Nitish needs to keep developing as a bowler and, perhaps most importantly, stay fit. He has had his own share of injury setbacks, and India’s options are thin enough that they cannot afford to lose both Hardik and Nitish for extended periods.The consequences were visible on the UK tour, where the fifth-bowling problem repeatedly came back to haunt India. Now that Nitish has returned from another injury setback, the next step is to keep himself on the park and continue developing as a pacer. With Hardik unavailable, he remains India’s only credible option to build around in white-ball cricket.Also Read: Afghanistan Predicted Playing XI vs India- 3rd T20I, 2026