Nitish Reddy needs to change his batting approach, not Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma: Wasim Jaffer

Former batter Wasim Jaffer has urged SunRisers Hyderabad all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy to bat with more responsibility in the Indian Premier League 2025. Nitish, who rose to prominence in the 2024 season, has had a terrible time so far, scoring just 81 runs in the first four matches.

Nitish’s penchant for hitting rash shots has come under criticism in the last two matches. In matches against Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders, Nitish lost his wicket trying to slog when his team had already lost the top order.

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Speaking on ESPNcricinfo in an interview, Jaffer said that SRH’s problem was not that Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head were not performing. Jaffer argued that there was no need for the openers to change their approach since they struck fear in the opposition. Jaffer said that instead, the No. 3 and especially the No. 4 needed to take some responsibility upon themselves.

“I won’t be telling them anything. I’ll, in fact, tell them to be themselves. That’s what worked for them. They put fear into the opposition bowlers, so you don’t want to tamper with that. They are very dangerous, and you know if they come off, SRH are very dangerous when the openers strike,” Jaffer said on ESPNcricinfo.

“I will probably be telling Nitish Reddy. I think he is looking a little too rushed. He is playing high-risk options, even Abhinav Manohar for that matter. If those openers do not strike, there is an opportunity for the No. 3 and No. 4. Ishan Kishan is pretty new to their system. He has even got a hundred. He has been pretty unlucky as well. In the second game, he got caught down the leg side; in the third game, that slash went straight into the hands of the fielder. Those things happen. But Nitish Reddy can take his time; he is very dangerous when he plays 10, 12, 15 balls,” Jaffer concluded.

SRH play GT at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday, April 6. SRH desperately need to come back after a hat-trick of losses in the IPL 2025.

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