Sunrisers Hyderabad were one step away from lifting the trophy last season. We take a look at key decisions SRH could make to win the IPL 2025.
Pat Cummins-led Sunrisers Hyderabad had an incredible Indian Premier League season in 2024 but couldn’t convert it into a championship. They faltered in the final stages, losing to Kolkata Knight Riders twice.
The mega auction, occuring every three years, meant that SRH had to rebuild their side. They had fairly easy choices to make regarding the retentions, securing Heinrich Klaasen, Travis Head, Pat Cummins, Abhishek Sharma and Nitish Kumar Reddy. In the IPL auction, they acquired some valuable assets such as Mohammed Shami, Harshal Patel, Ishan Kishan, Adam Zampa among others.
In the IPL 2025, Sunrisers Hyderabad will have to make a few calls that could decide their season.
Sunrisers Hyderabad retained Heinrich Klaasen for INR 23 crore and that should tell you just how much they value him. He is one of the best white-ball batters in the world. Being a right-hand and overseas batter, his ability to smash spinners is astonishing.
Klaasen has amassed 927 runs in the last two editions of the IPL, striking at 174 while averaging 44. He had a lean run in the format since the T20 World Cup final but regained form in the second half of the SA20 with 66 off 44 and 76* off 47.
One of the reasons behind his extended poor run was that teams were trying to protect him for the end overs. In the recent SA20, Durban’s Super Giants kept delaying him and batted him at number six or lower in four of the seven innings.
Klaasen is an excellent hitter of spin and when he has time on his hands, he can be doubly dangerous. But delaying him means he is in a position where he has to start hitting from the first ball or arrest the collapse. Sunrisers Hyderabad would be wise to send him anywhere between 7 to 12 overs and give him ample time.
Sunrisers Hyderabad spent INR 11.25 crore to add Ishan Kishan to their roster. However, it made very little sense as they already have a settled opening pair in Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head. Kishan’s best batting position is at the top but he is unlikely to get that spot ahead of those two.
That leaves a number three or four role, something that doesn’t suit his current game. Ishan Kishan had excelled in the middle order role in 2020 but has largely struggled in the last few against spin.
Ishan has an average of 26 at a strike rate of less than 120 against wrist spin and right-arm off-spin. Starting his innings in the middle overs against spin could be an issue for him. So how SRH use Kishan in IPL 2025 could be key.
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Sunrisers Hyderabad could have a selection dilemma in IPL 2025 regarding the final overseas spot. Pat Cummins, Mohammed Shami and Harshal Patel will form the pace attack. For the frontline spinner, do they go with Adam Zampa and bet on an Indian batter or do they opt for Rahul Chahar and play Kamindu Mendis in the lower middle order.
Zampa is one of the best spinners in the world while without Mendis, their batting looks a bit light. Mendis doesn’t have a great record for Sri Lanka in the shorter format but had done well in the LPL last year, scoring 286 runs at an average of 41 and strike rate of 157.
The impact player rule does offer SRH an option to name three overseas players in the playing XI while batting first and use either Mendis or Zampa depending on the situation.
Pat Cummins has been out of action with an ankle injury he sustained during the home Test series against India. The Australian captain has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy and the timeline for his return remains unclear.
In case Cummins doesn’t recover in time and misses the early part, how Sunrisers Hyderabad Adapt will be vital for their campaign. For the captaincy role, SRH could hand over the reins to Travis Head, who has plenty of experience.
SRH also have a good like-for-like back-up option in Brydon Carse. The England pacer recently had impressive performances in the T20I series against India, nine wickets in four games and hitting 31 off 17 in Chennai.
