After finishing runners-up in IPL 2024 and enthralling the cricket fraternity with their ultra-aggressive approach, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) had to settle at the sixth position on the points table this year.
Sunrisers won six games and lost seven last season. One of their matches ended without a result. One of the biggest problems for them last season was the inconsistent form of star players like Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, and Heinrich Klaasen, among others.
During the IPL 2026 mini-auction, SRH had a budget of INR 25.5 crore. The Orange Army bought 10 players at the auction to take their squad strength to 25. However, they might not have been able to address all the issues they had last season.
SRH Squad Comparison: IPL 2025 vs IPL 2026
Last year, apart from the off-form of their stalwarts, a glaring concern was the lack of depth in the bowling unit. Mohammed Shami had just returned to top-level cricket after a major injury issue, and leaked runs alarmingly. Simarjeet Singh was impressive but only in patches. Pat Cumminsis no longer a match-winner with the ball when it comes to T20 cricket. However, what was more concerning was the absence of a formidable spinner, who could make a difference in the middle overs.
The injury to Adam Zampa, which ruled him out, made a difference. The likes of Harsh Dubey and Zeeshan Ansari were too untested at the IPL level. So it seemed almost certain that SRH’s primary target at the auction table would be to acquire the services of some experienced spinners. Hasaranga had played for them in the past and could have been a good option. Even a Maheesh Theekshana could have served the purpose. The likes of Ravi Bishnoi and Rahul Chahar were also available, but they surprisingly didn’t bid for them.
Even in the pace-bowling department, the likes of Shivam Mavi and Sakib Hussain have been picked, but the former hasn’t played an IPL game since 2023, and the latter is yet to make his debut. Instead, SRH went all out for Liam Livingstone, bagging the services of the English all-rounder for INR 13 crore. While this buy strengthens their batting, there are doubts regarding the bowling repertoire of the former champions.
Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL 2026 Squad
Abhishek Sharma, Aniket Verma, Brydon Carse, Eshan Malinga, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan, Jaydev Unadkat, Kamindu Mendis, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins, R Smaran, Travis Head, Zeeshan Ansari, Shivang Kumar, Sakib Hussain, Salil Arora, Onkar Tarmale, Amit Kumar, Liam Livingstone, Shivam Mavi, Jack Edwards.