IPL Auction | Will unpredictable SRH go the Venky Iyer way or pursue premier spinner and backups?

‌Sunrisers Hyderabad has earned the tag of being one of the most unpredictable units in the Indian Premier League in the recent past. After finishing in the cellar of the 10-team tournament in 2023, the Orange Army discovered their best version to finish second in the group stage before falling in the final hurdle in the next season. The deadly duo of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma redefined T20 batting, especially in the powerplay, with astronomical strike rates of 191.55 and 204.21, respectively, while also finishing among the top 10 run-getters in that edition.

But just as England’s Bazball approach, the Sunrisers crashed in 2025, losing seven matches and finishing sixth in the points table. But the side is expected to continue their thrill-a-minute game for yet another season, trying to push the envelope of slambang cricket in the shortest format even further. A disappointing finish to the season saw the side releasing their premier pacer, Mohammad Shami, just a year since they signed him for a whopping INR 10 crore in the mega auctions. But what was more surprising was the side releasing both their leg-spinners, Adam Zampa and Rahul Chahar, with Zeeshan Ansari and Harsh Dubey being the top tweakers in the squad currently. With a budget of 25.5 crore, the third-most among the 10 sides, and some vacant slots to be filled, it will be interesting to see how SRH will approach the mini auction. Will they extend their flamboyant game on the field to the auction table or adopt a wait-and-watch approach, let us find out.

Top Order

1 Abhishek Sharma 2 Travis Head 3 Ishan Kishan

Backups: Yet to be picked

The all-guns opening duo of Abhishek and Head are expected to start every single game unless the Sunrisers seal a playoff spot early, and either of them is rested. The starting pair, alongside new signing Ishan Kishan at number three, blew hot and cold throughout the last season as the side’s fortunes dwindled. Abhishek, Head and Kishan all had 350-plus campaigns at averages of above 30 and strike rates of above 150, but they were heavily inconsistent.

While Abhishek had a bad start to the campaign before making up with an extraordinary second half, Head was the other way round, with an excellent start followed by a muted latter half. Meanwhile, Kishan had a season to forget for the unbeaten century in the first game against the Rajasthan Royals and a 94 in the penultimate league game against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. And interestingly, the trio were dismissed for scores under 25 in the same game four times last year, with the side losing all of them.

Given the highly fluctuating fortunes of the top three, the Sunrisers need to stack up their bench strength in case a need arises. Finn Allen, Tim Seifert or even a Kusal Perera are some of the options who suit well to the playing philosophy of SRH and add up as wicketkeeping options too. Australian all-rounder Matthew Short is another option, who is flexible enough to play in the top or middle depending on the situation and can bowl those handy off-spinners too. Even a Jake Fraser-McGurk does not look a far cry, given it is SRH and they can pull off the unthinkable. Along with that, they can still look for Indian alternatives too, in Anmolpreet Singh or Mayank Agarwal.

Possible Targets: Finn Allen/ Tim Seifert/ Kusal Perera/Matthew Short/ Jake Fraser-McGurk/ Anmolpreet Singh/ Mayank Agarwal

Middle Order

4 Heinrich Klaasen 5 Nitish Kumar Reddy 6 Aniket Verma 7 Yet to be picked 8 Pat Cummins

Backups: R. Smaran, Kamindu Mendis

The middle order had suffered the burden of inconsistency up top last year, big time, with Heinrich Klaasen playing saviour on many an occasion. The wicketkeeper-batter, who was retained for a whopping INR 23 crore, finished as their top run-getter in the 2025 edition with a tally of 487 runs at an average of 44.27 and a strike rate of 172.69.

But a lot has happened after that! The batter announced his retirement from international cricket and then had horrific outings in MLC and the Hundred, averaging 15.77 and 25.16, respectively. However, courtesy of Nitish Kumar Reddy’s equally unimpressive showing at number four for the Sunrisers last season, the former Proteas batter is expected to be promoted to number four next season.

Aniket Verma was promising as a pinch-hitter at six for the side in the last season, but has endured a poor run in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with 85 runs in seven innings for Madhya Pradesh. Contrastingly, R. Smaran has been in a purple run for Karnataka in the same tournament, amassing 319 runs from seven games at an average of 63.80 and a strike rate of 158.70. It would not be surprising to see the southpaw make his way into that middle order next season at some point in time.

Possible Targets: With the release of Abhinav Manohar, the Orange Army will need to find a starter for the number seven spot, and Venkatesh Iyer can be an interesting choice. And if signed, they can play him higher up and push Aniket Verma down to seven. Liam Livingstone is another option, which they can mull over, given he fits perfectly into that all-guns-blazing unit’s middle order. Moreover, he can bowl off-spinners and leg-spinners, which will come in handy given the shallow spin department of the side.

Bowling Attack 

9 Yet to be Picked 10 Harshal Patel 11 Jaydev Unadkat 12 Eshan Malinga

Backups: Brydon Carse/ Zeeshan Ansari/ Harsh Dubey

Signing a premier spinner will be the top priority for the Sunrisers in the mini auction after releasing Adam Zampa. The Hyderabad-based unit played the majority of their games with Zeeshan Ansari or Harsh Dubey after a shoulder injury ruled out the Australian leg-spinner after just two games. Wanindu Hasaranga would be a great choice given his wicket-taking credentials and his reliable secondary abilities with the bat. But with Head, Klaasen and captain Pat Cummins taking the three foreigners’ spots, SRH will be left to play with only one more option. And if they sign an overseas all-rounder, then both Hasaranga and Eshan Malinga will miss out. If they slot an Indian player at seven, one among Hasaranga or Malinga will only start.

Given all the headaches, an Indian marquee spinner will solve many a problem for the side, and that is where the side may go for Ravi Bishnoi, even if they have to break the bank. The leg-spinner, despite having two below-par seasons, is sure to rake in big money.

Though they traded Mohammed Shami to Lucknow Super Giants, the fast bowling unit looks very much settled. An off-colour Shami meant SRH were seventh in the list of wickets and second-worst in terms of economy in the powerplay. But they have fared slightly better in the other phases with third-most and fourth-most wickets, in the middle and death, respectively, although they have been third from bottom in terms of economy in both stages.

The side will be on the lookout for a domestic pacer who can add further depth to the squad. With Brydon Carse, Malinga and Cummins already on the roster, they may not go for an overseas pacer, especially with only two slots left.

Possible Targets: Wanindu Hasaranga/ Ravi Bishnoi/ Akash Madhwal/ Ashok Sharma