World No. 1 T20I batter Abhishek Sharma will open the innings with star Australian batter Travis Head, and out-of-favour Indian wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan will bat at No. 3 for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League.
In IPL 2025 as well, the trio played at 1-2-3 for the Orange Army but struggled with consistency.
South Africa’s Heinrich Klaasen, who is no longer active in international cricket, will keep the gloves and bat at No. 4, followed by young Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy at 5.
It will be interesting to see if 22-year-old Karnataka batter Smaran Ravichandran, who is making headlines in domestic cricket, manages to find a place in SRH’s playing XI.
Aniket Verma impressed with his performances in quite a few matches for SRH in IPL 2025, and he is likely to get many more chances in IPL 2026.
In the IPL 2026 auction, SRH signed England all-rounder Liam Livingstone for Rs 13 crore and uncapped Australian all-rounder Jack Edwards for Rs 3 crore. One out of Livingstone or Edwards will definitely feature in SRH’s playing XI, and if both of them miss out due to poor form or injury-related issues, then Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis is likely to get a chance.
Australia’s Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins will lead the Orange Army in IPL 2026. He will also have charge of the team’s fast-bowling attack that includes the likes of two-time purple cap winner Harshit Rana and Jaydev Unadkat.
In the auction, SRH also signed Shivam Mavi and Sakib Hussain to further strengthen the fast bowling.
As overseas backup, SRH retained England’s Brydon Carse and Sri Lanka’s Ehsan Malinga.
The only weak link in SRH’s bowling is the absence of a world-class spinner. They have Harsh Dubey, Zeeshan Ansari and part-time spin of Livingstone, but they miss a premier one like the other teams have. However, despite that, SRH owners have assembled a very strong squad for the 2026 season.
SRH Best Playing XI For IPL 2026: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Liam Livingstone, Aniket Verma, Pat Cummins, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari
SRH Full Squad For IPL 2026
- Batters: Aniket Verma, Travis Head, Smaran Ravichandran
- Bowlers: Pat Cummins, Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Omkar Tarmale, Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Shivam Mavi
- All-rounders: Harshal Patel, Kusal Mendis, Harsh Dubey, Brydon Carse, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivang Kumar, Krains Fuletra, Liam Livingstone, Jack Edwards
- Wicketkeepers: Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora