Ishan Kishan was inconsistent in IPL 2025.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) had several big names in IPL 2025, and most of them took whopping sums. They didn’t release too many players ahead of the IPL 2026 auction and tried to keep the core. The thought process was understandable: SRH wanted to make minimal changes and give more opportunities to players in the last season’s squad.
Their releases didn’t include many big names, except Mohammed Shami, who was traded to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Other obvious names were Rahul Chahar and Adam Zampa, both of whom took a big chunk of the purse but didn’t perform. Still, SRH could have released a few other big-budget players to free some purse and give themselves more freedom in the auction.
Sunrisers Hyderabad bought Ishan Kishan for a whopping INR 11.25 crore in the IPL 2025 auction, but his performances were underwhelming for most of the season, even if he scored in patches. So, SRH were supposed to release him, not only because he was taking a big sum but also because he was a misfit in the squad. He mostly batted at No.3, not his natural position, because he is an opener who specialises in maximising the powerplay mostly in this format.
Even in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Kishan has been opening for Jharkhand and flourished with big scores. As an opener, he averages 31.68 and strikes at 137.25 in 139 innings, including 23 fifties and four fifties. Outside the opening slot, the average and strike rate fall to 24.98 and 132.60, respectively, from 62 outings, with only seven fifties and a century.
At No.3, Kishan has 646 runs at an average of 26.91 and a 137.15 strike rate in 26 innings, including four fifties and a century. SRH already have a settled opening pair in Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, meaning Kishan will again need to bat at one down or lower next season. That makes him vulnerable and a misfit.
Additionally, SRH have a few options that are better suited to the No.3 slot than Ishan Kishan. For instance, they didn’t utilise Nitish Kumar Reddy wisely last season and could have given him this position. He is a terrific spin player and thrives when given a few balls, as he did in IPL 2024, and he would have helped SRH mix an RHB amidst so many LHBs in the batting order.
Moreover, SRH also have Smaran Ravichandran, who has made rapid progress as a batter and shown immense consistency across domestic competitions. He is another batter naturally suited for the No.3 slot and bats in the middle order for his domestic side, Karnataka, across formats. His recent form was one of the reasons SRH retained him despite not featuring in any games last season.
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Smaran has taken his red-ball form to the T20 format and batted at an adequate strike rate in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. With Kishan’s presence, he might have to sit out for most of IPL 2026 when SRH could have utilised his form and slotted him in Kishan’s place. Now, one of Smaran or Nitish will either bat out of position or not get enough chances.
SRH have a budget of INR 25.50 crore for IPL 2026 auction, the third-highest among all teams. Still, they might not get the required players due to their limited purse compared to CSK and KKR. Currently, they need a solid pace-bowling all-rounder and more spinners as a priority, while Indian pacers will also be handy.
The Hyderabad-based franchise should ideally go after Cameron Green, but he will be a hot property and might exceed their budget. Unfortunately, SRH can’t afford to spend the entire sum on one player, so they might have to settle for a middling option in this role. Not many quality players will be available.
Then, Indian spinners will also be in huge demand, for several teams need a solid wrist spinner. Ravi Bishnoi emerges as an obvious option, but budget constraints will again dictate whether SRH get him. The same goes for Indian pacers, who won’t be in big numbers, and the best ones will naturally be overpriced.
That’s how mini auctions work: teams hardly get to fill multiple slots in one go, unless they have an insanely big budget. Only KKR and CSK can boast it this time. SRH could have learnt from their own strategy before the IPL 2024 auction, when they released a few big players to get the likes of Pat Cummins and Travis Head.
Had they released Ishan Kishan, they could have added another INR 11.25 crore to their purse and gone all-out after at least one of the top players. Now, the auction dynamics will force them to settle for average options in every department. Unless they are lucky, SRH will likely end up with a below-par auction and not get enough quality options to plug the gap, which would make them rethink their retention strategy.
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