Why did Nitish Kumar Reddy miss SRH vs KKR clash of IPL 2026?
(Courtesy : BCCI/IPL)
Nitish Kumar Reddy played SRH’s previous game against the Mumbai Indians.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are clashing in match 45 of the Indian Premier League 2026. The afternoon clash of Sunday (May 3) is taking place at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Also Read: Why did Ramandeep Singh miss SRH vs KKR clash of IPL 2026?
SRH captain Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bat first. They have shown a fabulous form in recent games, winning five games in a row. Out of nine games, the Sunrisers have won six and lost three. With 12 points, they grab the third spot in the points table.
SRH all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is not part of the clash against KKR. He played SRH’s all previous matches in IPL 2026. At the toss, Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins mentioned that Reddy is not part of the playing XI and also revealed the reason for his absence.
Why is Nitish Kumar Reddy not part of the SRH vs KKR clash?
Notably, Reddy is missing the match due to illness and has been replaced by Smaran Ravichandran. At the toss, Cummins also added that pacer Harshal Patel has replaced Harsh Dubey in the encounter. These were only two changes SRH made to their side.
“We know we won’t win every single game, but this style is working well for us. Nitish misses out with an illness, so Smaran comes in on his debut. Harshal Patel is in place of Harsh Dubey”, Cummins stated.
About his decision to bat first, he added, “We’ll bat first. Pitch looks good and it’s very hot, we’ll bat and post a total. I’m not good at reading the pitches, it loioks nice and must be high scoring. The younger players have been fantastic, the older ones have held their own, I think we’ve always gone past 220 barring once”.
Meanwhile, Reddy has featured in nine games in IPL 2026, scoring 193 runs at a strike rate of 160.83, including a half-century. The all-rounder has also clinched six wickets at an economy of 10.85.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s playing XI vs KKR: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora (WK), Aniket Verma, Smaran Ravichandran, Pat Cummins (C), Shivang Kumar, Harshal Patel, Eshan Malinga.
Why is Nitish Kumar Reddy not part of SRH vs KKR clash?
Reddy is absent from the match due to illness.
Who won the toss in SRH vs KKR match?
Sunrisers won the toss and opted to bat first.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.