Nitish Kumar Reddy sustained a side strain during the ongoing England series, which has ruled him out of the rubber.
Nitish Kumar Reddy was among the biggest stories of IPL 2024, and his rise has been prominent since then. Hence, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) retained him before the IPL 2025 auction at INR 6 crores, and he will play a crucial role in the next cycle.
However, he sustained a side strain during the ongoing England series, which has ruled him out of the rubber. While he might be fit in time for IPL 2025, the team might still look for alternatives and hope to keep a few backups ready.
We look at three players who can come in as replacements for Nitish Kumar Reddy in IPL 2025.
Kamindu Mendis was a revelation in Tests last year, scoring runs for fun almost everywhere he batted. He also performed exceptionally well in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2024, accumulating 286 runs at an average of 40.85 and a 157.14 strike rate in nine innings, including three fifties.
That led to him getting an IPL contract with Sunrisers Hyderabad, who bought him for INR 75 Lakhs. Kamindu is a solid spin and pace player who can bat anywhere in the middle order and give a couple of overs with the ball, making him an all-round package.
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Atharva Taide was with Punjab Kings (PBKS) last year, but Sunrisers Hyderabad bought him for INR 30 Lakhs in the IPL 2025 auction. He is a southpaw, ferocious against pace because he has a solid base to work with.
Since 2023, he has a strike rate of 153.63 and a balls-per-boundary ratio of 4.23 against pacers in IPL. He can open the innings or bat at No.3, so the team should slot him somewhere in the top order to maximise his potential.
Sachin Baby is another middle-order batter who can come in to fill for Nitish Kumar Reddy. He recently featured for Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 101 runs at a strike rate of 157.81 in four innings.
Baby is a hard-hitter who can hit the ball long and generate enough power, especially against pacers. He doesn’t offer enough bowling value but has developed his power game enough to provide value to an IPL team, especially with the Impact Player rule.
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