Sunrisers Hyderabad are designed to destroy the opposition with their explosive batting. It's as simple as that for Pat Cummins and Daniel Vettori.
The Orange army breathe raging fire when they go out to score runs. This is the same outfit that pillaged 287 runs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2024 and immediately hinted at breaching the 300 mark in the future, much to the wonderment of the fraternity.
A defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders that season prevented a second IPL title, but SRH's live-and-die by the sword policy that saw them bulldoze their way through to the summit was undeterred.
Will they breach the dizzy heights of 300? Can their bowling department play a supporting hand over a two-month long season? Regardless, SRH will ignite, excite, and entertain.
SRH Squad - IPL 2026
Pat Cummins (c), Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aniket Verma, R. Smaran, Ishan Kishan (vc & wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Kamindu Mendis, Harshal Patel, Brydon Carse, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga, Zeeshan Ansari, Salil Arora, Shivang Kumar, Sakib Hussain, Onkar Tukaram, Krains Fuletra, Praful Hinge, Amit Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Liam Livingstone, David Payne.
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Travishek Return
Punjab Kings ride on their uncapped openers, while Royal Challengers have Virat Kohli and the devastating Phil Salt as their top two. Rajasthan Royals have a pair of destructive left-handers, Lucknow Super Giants witnessed the Marsh-Markram duo light up the Ekana.
But perhaps no side can match the firepower SRH have. To put into context, in a season where they won just three of their first 10 matches, their front three mustered at over 175 runs per 100.
Abhishek Sharma is the top seed batter in the ICC T20I rankings, and his partner-in-crime is coming off three swashbuckling centuries in the Ashes.
In 2024, the two smashed 174 boundaries combined. When SRH win, they average a whopping 73.25. Freakish, to say the least.
A bowling attack devoid of experience
But the Hyderabad-based team also possess, arguably, the biggest disparity between the two departments.
They were often the under-bidders to many star bowlers that were acquired in the mini auction. The eventually splashed INR 13 Cr on Liam Livingstone, who appeared more as a plan B at the time.
Sakib Hussain and Praful Hinge are two bowlers snapped up off the back of a strong scouting network, while six-time capped Shivam Mavi was also signed up. With Mohammad Shami gone, the bowling department now heavily relies on Harshal Patel.
Jack Edwards's injury further deepens their wounds, but signing David Payne could be a shrewd move. The 35-year-old excels in all phases of the game, and recently led Perth Scorchers to the BBL title with a match-winning 4-0-18-3 in the final against Sydney Sixers.
Alas, he's the only bowler with considerable experience with the new ball. Brydon Carse - unproven at the IPL level - is an understudy to skipper Cummins, who will remain on the sidelines for the first half of the tournament. Ishan Kishan will lead the side in his absence.
Hyderabad pitches to be the deciding factor
The Uppal stadium witnessed fireworks throughout the 2024 season. The 200 barrier was breached as many as 12 times, but wasn't a regular occurrence in 2025. The surface proved sticky and more challenging last season, conditions not suitable for SRH's heavy-hitting methodology.
Coach Vettori pinpointed the same after last season's disappointing results.
"I definitely didn't say after every match I was backing an aggressive approach. I said we're about assessing conditions and this year, the conditions weren't as we expected. If you look at last year, there were a lot of high-scoring games here. These surfaces in particular have been a little bit different. It has been tricky, it hasn't been easy for the batters," he stated.
There's no secret to SRH's modus operandi. They simply have to out-bat their opponent. And for that, their orange-painted ground's conditions have to be in their favor.
SRH Predicted XI
Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Aniket Verma, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Brydon Carse, Harshal Patel, Zeeshan Ansari. Impact player: Eshan Malinga.
SRH Season Predictions
League Position: 7th
Top Run Scorer: Travis Head
Top Wicket Taker: Harshal Patel
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