Nitish Reddy cleared to join SRH squad after recovering from side strain

Nitish Kumar Reddy has been cleared by the medical team at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru to feature in IPL 2025 from Sunrisers Hyderabad’s first fixture – on the second day of competition, March 23, at home against Rajasthan Royals. Nitish is expected to link up with the SRH squad at their pre-tournament camp, which begins on Sunday.

A yo-yo test on Saturday morning was the final box Nitish had to tick before returning to action after going through the usual recovery procedure from a side strain that he picked up during the T20I series against England last month. His score was 18; the pass score is 16.5.

Nitish featured in a practice game on Friday, where he is understood to have bowled full tilt without any discomfort. The BCCI medical panel had handled Nitish with caution: his rehab took a fortnight longer than the three weeks originally forecast. Nitish remains central to the India team management’s Test plans, with a tour of England to follow soon after the IPL season ends in late May.

SRH retained five players ahead of the mega auction late last year, and Nitih was one of them. He had a breakout IPL 2024, where he made 303 runs at a strike rate of 142.92. His bowling wasn’t as impressive, as he picked up three wickets and conceded runs at 11.62.

Nitish subsequently made his international debut in the T20I series at home against Bangladesh. His stocks rose further when he featured in all five Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, his maiden Test century in Melbourne being the highlight.

After the tour, Nitish had expressed keenness to work with Bharat Arun, the former India bowling coach, in Chennai. That move, however, didn’t materialise because of the side strain.

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