Faf Du Plessis And Lakshmipathy Balaji Present A Tactical Breakdown Of Sunrisers Hyderabad Ahead Of IPL 2026

Sunrisers Hyderabad is one of the few teams that cracked the T20 code early in the Indian Premier League. They packed their team with the most destructive T20 batters in the world and broke several batting and six-hitting records in the previous two IPL seasons.

SRH took the IPL by storm in 2024, when they swept away teams with their batting and reached the final. However, 2025 turned out to be a mid-season for them as they couldn't even manage to enter the play-offs.

However, despite having an aggressive approach and an elite mindset, the trophy had eluded them. One of the major reasons for this has been their lacklustre show with the ball. Also, they have let go of Mohammed Shami, which makes their bowling attack even thinner.

Speaking on JioHotstar's, experts Faf du Plessis and Lakshmipathy Balaji shared their thoughts on SRH's strengths and weaknesses, the trade involving Mohammed Shami, and Abhishek Sharma's form going into the new edition.

"When I look at Sunrisers, it almost reminds me of the West Indies at the T20 World Cup, an extremely powerful batting lineup. But when I look at the squad, I ask myself, who are my wicket-takers? From a captaincy point of view, who am I throwing the ball to? Obviously, Cummins is the captain, so he is the go-to option. But apart from him, who are the other guys? Who are the two or three bowlers that are my bankers at the death and who will get me wickets in the powerplay? Looking at the names, I am not entirely sure who those guys are. So if they are going to have a successful campaign, they will have to bully opposition bowlers and build scoreboard pressure by out-batting teams. Then when the opposition comes out to bat, they look at the scoreboard, chasing 260, they get out."

Abhishek Sharma Gets Word of Caution Ahead of IPL 2026

The experts also shared their words of wisdom on the recent form of World No.1 T20I batter, Abhishek Sharma, who went through a lean patch in the T20 World Cup. Though he blasted a quick-fire half-century in the all-important final, his struggles against off-spin will be tested again in the IPL this year.

"Expect a lot of off-spin, but I feel Abhishek has done fantastically well in IPL cricket. This kind of dip in form is very normal. Every top-performing batter goes through a season like the one he is in now. So it is just a case of staying strong through the challenges, keeping doing the same things, and continuing to focus on your process. He had such an incredible year before the World Cup. But he is a good player, so I am sure he will find his feet again quickly in the IPL and dominate."

SRH's Over-Reliance On Pat Cummins

Faf du Plessis and Balaji highlighted the structure of the SRH team, where they have filled their team with some of the most destructive batters in the world, which eventually led to a compromise in their bowling strength.

SRH are too reliant on the experience of Pat Cummins, which makes them squad a bit one-dimensional.

"I think in this team, yes, there is an over-reliance on Pat Cummins, the bowler. If you look at the way they structured the team, when you spend so much money on someone in the auction, you are essentially saying, 'He is part of our playing XI.' So they've gone, 'We want to pick the most destructive batting lineup in the IPL when it comes to six hitting.' And they are all six-hitters."

Another interesting pick by SRH is that off Liam Livingstone for a whopping INR 12 crore. Livingstone was touted as the next big thing in world cricket but his performances so far both in international and league have been underwhelming.

Speaking on the induction of Liam Livingstone into the SRH squad, the experts said, "Liam Livingstone is an interesting one because if you look at his IPL career, he has not performed to his full potential in almost any of the teams he has played for. You would expect that he has a season in him where people in India can truly see what he can do, but he has not quite done it yet. So it is interesting that teams continue to back him as the overall package. I suppose that is also because of the element of spin that comes with it and all-rounders are worth their weight in gold in an auction. That is probably why he went for so much."

Jio Hotstar's Expert Panel Dissects SRH's Bowling Issue

SRH's bowling line-up has been under the scanner since the last auction. They traded Mohammed Shami to LSG, which raised a few eyebrows as it left them only with Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, and Shivam Mavi as the capped Indian fast bowling options.

In the spin department, too, they are reliant on Indian domestic spinner Zeeshan Ansari. Given the options, SRH, the analysts believe that they will go pace heavy with Jeeshan Ansari leading the spin attack.

"I was a bit surprised by Mohammed Shami's trade between SRH and LSG. Of course, Harshal Patel is another option and he has experience when it comes to death bowling. But apart from that, the bowling lineup looks very thin. They have tried Jaydev Unadkat in the past and he will bowl a couple of overs up front as well. Then there is Shivam Mavi, another bowler who has struggled with injuries over the years. In the spin department too, they do not have a recognised go-to option. Yes, Zeeshan Ansari, a domestic leg-spinner, has done well. That is probably why they may have to go pace-heavy, with Ansari as their primary spin option," said the analysts during the show.

SRH Face Backlash Over Abrar Ahmed's Signing

Like many IPL franchises, Sunrisers Hyderabad have expanded globally and have different teams in leagues around the world. However, recently they've been at the receiving end of immense backlash from Indian fans for signing Pakistan's spinner Abrar Ahmed in their The Hundred franchise - Sunrisers Leeds.

In a first-ever Hundred auction, Sunrisers Leeds, in which SRH's owner, the Sun Group has a 100 % share brought Abrar Ahmed for a whopping INR 2.34 crore that enraged many Indian fans as he has a previous history of mocking the Indian Air Force with his 'Tea is Fantastic' posts (referring to wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman's captivity in Pakistan).

The outrage even led to a temporary ban of the Sunrisers Leeds official X account; however, it was again restored after sometime.

SRH will start their IPL campaign with the opening match against defending champions at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The contest sets the stage for a perfect opener as both teams are filled with explosive batting on a batting friendly wicket with small boundary dimensions.