While it was an overall team performance in their runners-up finish last season, there were a few players who stood above the rest and can fit into the SRH's plans going ahead into IPL 2025.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), under the leadership of new skipper Pat Cummins, had an extremely successful campaign last season, making it to the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024).
Barring the heartbreaking loss in the summit clash to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), it was a season full of positives for the franchise as they look forward to the new edition (IPL 2025) in a bid to go one step further and win the title.
The IPL 2025 mega-auction scheduled ahead of the season will also give the franchise a chance to bolster their squad.
While the management has to let go of most of the players since it’s a mega-auction with only 4 retentions allowed, it will be interesting to see who the franchise opts to keep back.
The SRH roster boasts incredible talent across all departments and it will be a tricky task to shortlist just 4 names.
While it was an overall team performance in their runners-up finish last season, there were a few players who stood above the rest and can fit into the franchise’s plans going ahead.
Australia’s Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins became the most expensive player in IPL history when SRH bought him for an incredible INR 20.75 crores during last year’s auction. However, that record was shattered soon after when KKR secured Mitchell Starc for INR 24.75 crores, pushing Cummins to the second spot.
Nevertheless, the huge investment and the captaincy role clearly indicate that the franchise hopes to have a long-term tenure with the player and Cummins too had done commendably in his first season for SRH. It is expected that the Hyderbad-based outfit will most definitely repay the faith and Cummins will be their first choice for retention.
Also Read: RR Retained Players List for IPL 2025
Explosive Australian opener Travis Head too was purchased by the franchise during the auction in Dubai last year ahead of IPL 2024. Head made an immediate impact and was one of the key architects to help SRH make it to the final.
Head gave SRH the foundation with an early flourish at the top of the batting order which would allow the subsequent batters to come in and carry on the carnage carefree. This is precisely why SRH broke the record for the highest-ever team total in IPL twice last season.
Head looked in sublime form, scoring 567 runs at an impressive average of 40.50 and a fiery strike rate of 191.55. The dynamic left-hander also registered 4 half-centuries and a century as well. Given Travis Head’s impressive stats from last season, SRH will ensure to not let go off such dangerous ammunition from their arsenal.
Young batting sensation Abhishek Sharma is another SRH star who enjoyed a breakout IPL 2024. The 23-year-old opened the innings alongside Head and ensured SRH gets off to a flyer of a start more often than not.
Abhishek gave a sheer testament to his batting prowess, amassing 484 runs in 16 games at an explosive strike rate of 204.22. Following his heroics in IPL 2024, Abhishek also earned his maiden India call-up during the Zimbabwe tour earlier this month.
Nitish Reddy was a revelation for SRH last season. The batting all-rounder was called up to the Indian squad for the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe after enjoying a stellar campaign with SRH.
Although Nitish was sidelined by a sports hernia injury and couldn’t his India debut, he had made a significant impact to be in the reckoning for the future. He also won the ‘Emerging Player of the Season’ award after he scored 303 runs in 11 innings, including two fifties, with a strike rate of 143, and also took three wickets with his bowling.
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