IPL 2025: Nitish Kumar Reddy Reveals Why He Chose SRH Retention at Just 6 Crore

IPL 2025: Why did Nitish Kumar Reddy agree on a Rs 6 crore retention, when he could have bagged a Rs 11 crore deal?

IPL 2025: Why Nitish Kumar Reddy chose to be retained by SunRisers Hyderabad for Rs 6 crore.

(Photo: IPL/BCCI)

Nitish Kumar Reddy’s ascent over the last couple of years – driven by his relentless commitment to improvement – has been nothing short of remarkable. Rewards of dedication have not evaded him, both in terms of the national team selection, and a massive remuneration hike when it comes to his Indian Premier League (IPL) contract with SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH).

From his 2023 auction price of ₹20 lakh, Nitish is now retained for ₹6 crore, marking a staggering 29x increase.

However, having already made his debut for the Indian team, Nitish could have secured a 54x hike – a contract worth Rs 11 crore – should he wished to do so.

SunRisers Hyderabad’s Retentions

Whilst the IPL retention guidelines have mentioned provisional slots of Rs 18 crore, Rs 14 crore, Rs 11 crore, Rs 18 crore and Rs 14 crore for the five retentions respectively, teams are allowed to distribute the cumulative sum of Rs 75 crore among the five players in whichever manner they prefer.

With Heinrich Klaasen at Rs 23 crore, Pat Cummins at Rs 18 crore, and Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head at Rs 14 crore each, SRH had already allocated Rs 69 crore across four players. Nitish’s agreement at Rs 6 crore kept the team within its Rs 75 crore bracket.

Players Retained by SRH:

• Heinrich Klaasen – Rs 23 Crore

• Pat Cummins – Rs 18 Crore

• Travis Head – Rs 14 Crore

• Abhishek Sharma – Rs 14 Crore

• Nitish Kumar Reddy – Rs 6 Crore

So, what led to Nitish retention at Rs 6 crore – 54.55% of what he should have received?

‘Price Tag Doesn’t Matter’

Speaking with The Quint, the 21-year-old all-rounder reveals his rationale.

Playing for SunRisers Hyderabad fills me with pride. As a Telugu speaker, I am proud to represent my region and play for SRH. The price tag doesn’t matter for me; my focus is on performing and helping my team win.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

Nitish confirmed he had other offers, but said there was never a doubt about where he wanted to play.

I received interest from other franchises, but I can't really think of playing for any other franchise. I only wanted to play for SRH. They showed trust in me initially, and now I’m committed to repay their trust.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

On SRH's Epic Transformation

SRH's journey from last place during Nitish's IPL debut in 2023 to runners-up in 2024 reflected a dramatic transformation. He explained the shift:

The transition happened because of the aggressive cricket that we played last season. Earlier, we would look to get to par score, in that 150-180 run mark. But it wasn’t working out for us. But in the last season, we were always looking to score over 200, and get those 220-240 scores. We were playing aggressive cricket, so the opponents were under pressure while playing against us.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

Nitish further elaborates:

We also have plenty of aggressive batters, so this approach really suited us. Of course, this also got us all out for 100-120 on some days, but we always backed our aggressive game.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

The Pat-Dan Factor

Speaking on the leadership of Cricket World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins, who is set to continue his role as SRH’s skipper, Nitish says:

Pat gives everyone a free hand. He gives us the license to play however we want to play. If we want to bang-bang from the first ball and attack the bowlers, he encourages that. This suited our batters, and the rest you already know, how our season went. Pat will never put any pressure on the batters. If the aggressive approach doesn’t work, he will come up with some plans but he will never pressurise us.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

Cummins, however, might not have orchestrated Hyderabad’s revival alone, had it not been for coach Daniel Vettori’s support. Nitish says:

Dan Vettori has worked with Pat in the Australian set-up, so they gel together really well to work as one. They both are always in synchronisation. Whatever Pat feels, Dan also thinks in the same direction. They both know each other inside out. When the coach and the captain are on the same page, the players also agree to whatever they are saying. It works out so good for us.

Nitish Kumar Reddy