Nitish Kumar Reddy is one of the mainstays of the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the ongoing IPL 2026 season. The batting all-rounder has improved his bowling, and it is clearly visible when he delivers a ball around 140 kmph.
SRH is yet to confirm their spot in the play-offs, and for the next match, they will have to face the table topper, the Punjab Kings, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Whether Nitish Kumar Reddy will play or not tomorrow against the Punjab Kings is not clear yet.
Nitish Kumar Reddy to miss the SRH vs PBKS IPL 2026 clash?
Ahead of the match, Daniel Vettori, the head coach of SRH, said that Reddy is not completely ruled out of the match. “I spoke to him this morning, and he's feeling a lot better. He's going to train today, but we don't foresee a situation where he won't play tomorrow,” the head coach told the media.
Nitish Kumar Reddy missed their previous match against the Kolkata Knight Riders due to illness, forcing a late change in their lineup, which. This follows a series of injury concerns, including a left quadriceps injury and neck spasms sustained in October 2025, which saw him miss T20Is against Australia.
Smaran Ravichandran replaced Nitish Kumar Reddy vs KKR
Sunrisers Hyderabad had to replace Nitish Kumar Reddy for their match against the Kolkata Knight Riders on May 3. In place of the all-rounder, the franchise included Smaran Ravichandran in their playing combination. At the toss, Pat Cummins, the SRH skipper, explained why Reddy was not in the playing eleven.
“Nitish misses out due to illness, and Smaran is playing in his place. Also, Harshal Patel has replaced Harsh Dubey,” the SRH captain said.
Without Reddy on the side, SRH suffered a heavy defeat against the Knight Riders. KKR, the away team for the match, claimed it by 7 wickets and 10 balls to spare. Despite a good start through the blade of Travis Head, Hyderabad managed to get only 165 runs in 19 overs for 10 wickets. KKR surpassed the challenge with ease.
Punjab and Hyderabad both dropped points in the previous IPL 2026 match
Ahead of the Kolkata match, SRH was on a winning streak, and they will be hoping to regain the momentum by defeating the Punjab Kings, who have also dropped their form in their recently played matches in IPL 2026. The Shreyas Iyer-led side endured two back-to-back defeats in the last five matches.
On May 6, both Hyderabad and Punjab will walk out into the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, with the same goal: 2 points. As of now, PBKS, with 13 points from 9 games, remains at the top of the IPL 2026 points table, and SRH, with 12 points from 10 matches, is holding the third spot on the ladder. Both teams are on the verge of securing berths in the play-offs.
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