CHENNAI: Wasim Jaffer’s appointment as mentor of Hyderabad cricket can be felt already. With Tuesday’s innings and 40 runs win against Tripura at the Gymkhana, Hyderabad now have momentum on their side. In their quest to qualify to the knockouts for the first time in a decade, this win comes as a big boost.
One of them fuelled by Jaffer’s advice was left-arm spinner G Aniketh Reddy. On a ground conducive for spinners, Tanay Thyagarajan, another left-arm spinner, and Aniketh made the most out of the conditions. But the words of Jaffer, in his brief interaction with the team, have stuck with him. “In Hindi there’s a saying – ‘khadoos (to be stubborn in Hindi).’ He mentioned that word which stuck in me. Whenever we bat our bowl, it should not be easy for the opposition. He’s always told us to show character, grit and to turn up in high-pressure situations,” he told this daily on Tuesday.
And that has translated into a good show with the ball. While Thyagarajan dazzled with a six-wicket haul on Day 3, Aniketh scalped five wickets (5/21) on Day 1 to topple Tripura out from 130/4 to 134 all out.
The five-wicket haul will mean more than just wickets for the 25-year-old. After being one of the standout bowlers in last year’s Buchi Babu Trophy, which Hyderabad won the final in Chennai, Aniketh struggled with injuries in the 2025/26 Ranji season. He ended with 11 wickets.
But this season, the intensity in his preparations have been quite high. “I played five four-day matches in the Hyderabad Cricket Association’s (HCA) senior men’s Super League and I bowled long spells. In a month’s time, I bowled around 140 overs. The plan for the season remained the same as last in terms of keeping it tight,” he said. Additionally, Aniketh scalped six wickets in a practice match against Kerala at the Gymkhana, where Hyderabad won by 184 runs.