Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) flattered to deceive in 2025 and enter the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season with pressure to at least make the playoffs. SRH boast a star-studded batting lineup, comprising the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen. However, question marks remain over their bowling attack. Captain and lead pacer Pat Cummins is set to miss the first few matches and veteran pacer Mohammed Shami was traded to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, meaning the bulk of the pace-bowling burden could fall on inexperienced players.
Former India cricketer Abhinav Mukund pointed out this issue, giving a scathing remark in highlighting the difference in strength between SRH’s batting and bowling.
“If their batting is a 10 (out of 10), their bowling is a 1, with a very big drop off,” Mukund said, speaking on ESPNcricinfo.
“Their batting will hurt teams, and it’s the strongest in the competition. Just that makes them dangerous on a flat Hyderabad track. But the drop-off is too much in the bowling,” he added.
24-year-old Praful Hinge, 23-year-old Omkar Tarmale and 21-year-old Sakib Hussain are among the talented Indian pacers bought by SRH. However, none of them have ever played an IPL match.
As a result, IPL veterans Jaydev Unadkat and Harshal Patel may need to lead the pace attack, opined Mukund.
“They have so many who’ve not even played in the IPL. You came with a lot of money to the auction, and you ended up spending it on Liam Livingstone when you already have Klaasen, Head, and Abhishek Sharma.
“They have a very inexperienced bowling lineup with guys who aren’t making their own first-class sides. Many are picked based on just scouting from the trials. I am surprised at how they have constructed their team. In the years they’ve done well, they’ve had Bhuvneshwar Kumar or T Natarajan doing really well for them. But now it looks like Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat have to front-load this attack,’ Mukund said.
SRH kickstart their campaign against reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on March 28. They will initially be led by Ishan Kishan, in Pat Cummins’ absence.