IPL 2026 SRH Review: Can Sunrisers Hyderabad's batting firepower cover the Orange Army's bowling woes?

As Sunrisers Hyderabad prepare for the start of Indian Premier League 2026, the franchise enters the season with a reputation very different from the one it carried for most of its history.

For years, the Hyderabad side built its identity around tight bowling and disciplined defending of totals. Over the past two seasons, however, SRH have transformed into one of the tournament’s most explosive batting units.

The shift has produced record scores and a new brand of cricket, but it has also exposed weaknesses that the team must address in the new season.


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Sunrisers Hyderabad joined the IPL in 2013 after replacing the now-defunct Deccan Chargers franchise. The team quickly established itself as a competitive side built around a strong bowling attack. SRH won their first and only IPL title in 2016 under the captaincy of David Warner, defeating Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final.

Over the years, the franchise has remained a regular playoff contender and has reached the IPL final three times—2016, 2018 and 2024. For much of its history, Hyderabad’s identity rested on disciplined bowling led by players such as Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan, often defending modest totals rather than chasing massive scores.

SRH's 2024 turning point

The change in SRH’s approach became most visible in IPL 2024. After finishing last in the 2023 season, the franchise undertook a major rebuild that gave priority to attacking batting. The batting unit was reshaped around players who could deliver power at pace, most notably Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen.

Head finished the campaign as SRH’s leading run‑scorer with 567 runs, consistently giving Hyderabad strong starts at the top of the order. Sharma emerged as one of the season’s most explosive young talents, compiling 484 runs at a strike rate above 200. Klaasen also made valuable contributions with the bat, scoring 479 runs at a rapid tempo.

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The results were immediate. SRH repeatedly posted large totals and broke scoring records. The side scored 287 runs in a match against RCB, one of the highest team totals in IPL history. Consistent aggression through the powerplay and middle overs allowed Hyderabad to control matches with the bat.

A balanced bowling attack, led by T Natarajan (19 wickets) and captain Pat Cummins (18 wickets), helped the team sustain its push toward the later stages. SRH finished the league stage strongly, qualified for the playoffs, and ultimately reached the 2024 IPL final, where they lost to the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Although the campaign ended as runners‑up, it marked a clear tactical shift. The franchise had moved away from the measured, bowling‑centric model of the past and begun to embrace an aggressive batting blueprint suited to modern T20 cricket.

Consolidating the new identity in 2025

SRH carried that attacking philosophy into IPL 2025. With a largely consistent batting core, Hyderabad continued to post imposing totals. A key highlight was a score of 278 for 3 against KKR, one of the highest totals in IPL history, bolstered by aggressive hitting from Head, Sharma and Klaasen.

Across the season, SRH’s batting unit ranked among the highest‑scoring lineups in the competition. The team regularly powered through powerplays and sustained momentum deep into innings.

However, the 2025 campaign also exposed a critical imbalance: despite prolific run‑scoring, SRH finished sixth and missed the playoffs. Matches that required defending large totals highlighted the limitations of the bowling attack. Opposition teams often chased down big targets or kept matches alive until the final overs, exploiting gaps in Hyderabad’s bowling depth.

The growing bowling concern

While SRH’s batting transformed into one of the tournament’s most feared lineups, the bowling attack struggled to deliver the same consistency. The franchise that once relied on the bundling threat of veterans like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan and T Natarajan found it harder to control opposition batting lineups on high‑scoring surfaces.

Even when pace spearhead Umran Malik’s raw speed troubled batters, long partnerships from opponents often countered those bursts. As a result, close matches frequently tipped away from Hyderabad’s favor, underscoring a repeating theme: batting firepower opposed by bowling instability.

Questions before IPL 2026

Heading into IPL 2026, SRH boast one of the most aggressive batting cores — Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen — capable of posting match-winning totals.

With Pat Cummins injured and some experienced bowlers absent, the team will rely on Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Brydon Carse and domestic options like Praful Hinge to step up. Spinners such as Zeeshan Ansari will also be key in the middle overs.

Success for SRH will depend on whether these bowlers can control runs, take wickets, and support the batting firepower. If they do, Hyderabad could challenge for a playoff spot; if not, their powerful batting may not be enough to win consistently.

Sunrisers will face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the season opener on March 28, 2026.

SRH 2026 squad

Ishan Kishan, Aniket Verma, Smaran Ravichandran, Salil Arora, Heinrich Klaasen, Travis Head, Harshal Patel, Kamindu Mendis, Harsh Dubey, Brydon Carse, Shivang Kumar, Krains Fuletra, Liam Livingstone, Jack Edwards, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins, Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Onkar Tarmale, Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Shivam Mavi