Nitish Kumar Reddy on Wednesday announced his arrival in international cricket as he notched up his maiden T20 half-century in 27 deliveries against Bangladesh at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

The right-handed batter accelerated through the innings after reaching his half-century, hitting Bangladesh spin ace Mehidy Hasan for three sixes and a four in the 13th over.

The all-rounder also stitched a century fourth-wicket stand with his fellow half-centurion Rinku Singh which set the tone for the Indian innings before being dismissed for 74 runs off 34 deliveries. His innings was laced with four boundaries and seven sixes.

His ascendency to the Team India setup came after his fantastic run for SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, recording 303 runs at an average of 33.67, which turned out to be crucial in their playoffs run.

In the middle of the IPL season, he became the most expensive player in the Andhra Premier League as he was bought by Marligodavari Titans for a whooping INR 15.6 lakh.

Earlier, the Visakhapatnam batter was retained by SRH for the ongoing season after he did not get to bat in two matches of the previous edition of the IPL. He bowled five overs in IPL 2023 but failed to pick up any wickets.

It remains to be seen if the Hyderabad franchise retains him for the upcoming season of the IPL with his value rising to INR 11 crore after earning the Team India cap.