Whether SRH would be successful in IPL 2026 is a question for later, but then the way things panned out for them at the auctions, it is pretty clear, that the franchise is ready to invest in the future. At the recent IPL 2026 auctions, Hyderabad went on to purchase as many as seven uncapped players initially, post which they went on to buy Liam Livingstone and Shivam Mavi.
They had done a decent job with their retentions as well. But where does the entire squad stand really, with respect to the other teams in the competition? Is it the best, perhaps not. Can it win the title next year; unsure. But what can be certain of is, they will play fearless cricket in the presence of such a young team.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Hits at IPL auction 2026
The biggest buy for the team came in the form of English all-rounder Liam Livingstone (13 Cr). That means, after burning a hole in the pocket, they certainly look at him as a playing XI material. If so, he is a good buy for them; can add value as a spinner, apart from being a big hitter.
Another player to watch out for will be young keeper/batter Salil Arora, who has been in good nick for Punjab in the SMAT. His career strike-rate is 197 in T20s, and had recently scored 125 vs Jharkhand. Among bowlers, Sakib Hussain is the one to watch out for; he can really up the pace, if given a chance. And if fully fit, Shivam Mavi can be a good choice lower in the order, and as a pacer.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Flops at IPL 2026 auction
Where do we start? Bowling looks inadequate at the moment. They released Shami, bid for Auqib Nabi for a long time, but backed out when it crossed INR 8 Cr. Even though there are pacers of repute, but one doesn’t get confidence in Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat now. In spinners too, they don’t really have a big name to boast of.
Yes. Spin is a very big concern. Harsh Dubey is a promising spinner from domestic circuit, Zeeshan Ansari played for them last year, but there is absence of a solid bowler in the department, unless someone from the new picks really turns it around for the team. All this when they had a remaining purse of over 5 Cr.
Just to remind all, spinners like Maheesh Theekshana, Mujeeb ur Rahman, went unsold a couple of days back at the auction.
Rating SRH squad for IPL 2026 (7/10)
Pat Cummins (c), Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aniket Verma, R. Smaran, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Kamindu Mendis, Harshal Patel, Brydon Carse, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga, Zeeshan Ansari, Shivang Kumar, Salil Arora, Sakib Hussain, Onkar Tarmale, Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Krains Fuletra, Liam Livingstone, Shivam Mavi, Jack Edwards.
SRH strongest playing XI
| Player | Role |
|---|---|
| Travis Head | Batter |
| Abhishek Sharma | All-rounder |
| Ishan Kishan | Keeper-batter |
| Heinrich Klaasen | Keeper-batter |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | All-rounder |
| Liam Livingstone | All-rounder |
| Aniket Verma | Batter |
| Pat Cummins (C) | Bowler |
| Jaydev Unadkat | Bowler |
| Harshal Patel | Bowler |
| Zeeshan Ansari | Bowler |
| Harsh Dubey | Impact Sub |
