Irfan Pathan reserved high praise for SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) all-rounder Nitish Reddy following his all-round heroics in a 65-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday, April 2, in IPL 2026. SRH defended a 227-run target to clinch their maiden win of the season.

Nitish was declared the Player of the Match. The youngster scored 39 runs off 24 balls and picked up two wickets. Irfan seemed mighty impressed by the all-rounder’s bowling exploits.

He noted that Nitish’s pace has increased lately. The former cricketer suggested that the 22-year-old worked very hard on his bowling during the team’s preseason camp.

Irfan said in his recent YouTube video while praising Nitish’s match-winning performance against KKR:

“I was very impressed, especially with his bowling. He focused a lot on his bowling in the eight-day camp before the season. He worked on getting off the back foot early to become quicker and can use his body better. His pace seems to have increased, and he is consistently bowling at 135 kmph.”

Nitish batted at No. 4 in SRH’s IPL 2026 opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He managed just one run off six balls in the clash. The right-handed batter was handed a new role in the subsequent fixture, getting slotted at No. 6 in the batting order.

Irfan reckoned that the SRH think-tank made the right decision by demoting Nitish in the batting order

“I really liked Hyderabad’s plan to send Nitish Kumar Reddy down the order. He was given the role of playing carefully and forming partnerships. His 82-run partnership with Klaasen strengthened their position in the match. His bowling was also very impressive. It seems like his graph is going upwards in white-ball cricket,” he added.

Following their maiden win, SRH are now sixth in the IPL 2026 standings with two points and a net run rate of 0.469.

“It was not flawless batting” – Irfan Pathan’s big remark on SRH’s overseas star after 65-run win over KKR

Heinrich Klaasen was the top performer with the bat for SRH in the contest. He scored 52 off 35 at a strike rate of 148.57. Irfan Pathan emphasized that the knock would do wonders for the South African wicketkeeper-batter.

However, he opined that Klaasen still did not seem to be at his best. The cricketer-turned-commentator added in the same video:

“It was not flawless batting. It was not like how we have seen him bat in prime form. But it was still a good knock. He was getting a bit stuck outside the off stump, but still managed to hit boundaries despite that. His performance and increase in confidence were very important, especially with a senior player like Pat Cummins injured.”

Hyderabad will next take on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in an afternoon fixture on Sunday, April 5.