Last Updated on 2 hours ago by Charbel Coorey

Nitish Kumar Reddy has been one of the surprise packets of IPL 2026. The allrounder’s contributions with the bat are not unexpected given his talent with the blade, but he is touching speeds of 139km/h with the ball – a surprise to many.

Reddy, traditionally a bowler who would deliver a few overs in the mid-120s, has achieved a marked increase in speed this season thanks to sessions with Steffan Jones, a former county cricketer who is now a fast-bowling and high-performance coach.

A look at why Nitish Kumar Reddy is bowling faster in the IPL: Motivation, technique and coaching

During the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Matthew Hayden commented on Reddy’s need for more pace as he took on the responsibility of being part of India’s seam attack in that series. According a report in ESPNcricinfo, this resonated strongly with Reddy.

“That video [of Hayden’s comments] seemed to resonate with him,” Jones said. “I’m known for developing speed, I’ve done it with Ishant Sharma as well. So I studied his technique and knew I’d need to test him physically once I got there.”

Nitish Kumar Reddy gets in touch with Steffan Jones

Soon before IPL 2026, Reddy [via his manager] reached out to Jones via social media after scrolling through his videos on Instagram. The lack of time in the cricketing calendar makes it difficult for extended one-on-one sessions, but Jones and Reddy were able to complete a number of sessions within a week.

“I knew this was a big season for me,” Reddy said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. “I was desperate to get this work in before the IPL. The one thing that bothered me over the past year was that my athleticism wasn’t translating into my bowling performance or speed. I wanted to rectify that, so I decided to invest in myself.”

Jones reveals why the all-rounder wasn’t bowling as quickly as he could

Jones revealed that Reddy’s run up needed to be straighter. Also, there were a few technical areas to work on that could give the allrounder an edge.

“What I found was key: he ran in on an angle, pelvis facing fine leg, spent too long on back-foot contact, and could run in faster and from further,” Jones said.

“He’s a very good athlete, one of the best around. So it was about fine-tuning technique and waking up certain muscle. Bowling is about the brain and getting muscles to function quicker. Speed gains are possible if you understand that.

“We straightened his run-up, so that the energy goes towards the batter. Fast bowling is a hip-shoulder separation game – pelvis forward, upper body working over it. If you run in on an angle, you block that energy.”

Also, Jones emphasised the last four strides as crucial in generating extra pace. He used Jasprit Bumrah as a prime example given the great fast bowler walks for much of his run-up.

“The last four strides are crucial – they’re the power zone,” Jone said. “That explains why someone like Bumrah is able to bowl at high pace consistently even though he literally just walks halfway into his run-up and then takes off.

“About 20% of ball speed comes from the run-up. We worked on that repeatedly, with constraints like cones, twice a day, with varying intensity.”

“Aim is to have Nitish Kumar Reddy become one of the best all-rounders in the world”

Jones, who believes more players will employ their individual coaches in this current cricketing landscape, is also working closely with Sunrisers Hyderabad in terms of Reddy’s schedule and workload. The coach is excited about Reddy’s progress and believes he can become one of the game’s best allrounders.

“I’m flying to Hyderabad for the KKR game [on May 3]. We’ll meet there, and I’ll also catch up with Varun Aaron. Then we’ll come to an understanding of how it works going forward. The aim is to get him consistently into the 140s and develop him into one of the best allrounders in the world.”

Reddy has enjoyed promising moments in the first half of IPL 2026. After six games, the allrounder has four wickets at a strike rate of 19.50, including a player of the match performance (39 and 2/17) against Kolkata Knight Riders.