Sunrisers Hyderabad will be eyeing to go to the top of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) points table with a win against current table-toppers Punjab Kings on Wednesday. The team’s balance in their previous game against KKR was disrupted due to the absence of Nitish Kumar Reddy and the effect of that was felt as they succumbed to a 7-wicket defeat. Now, at a stage when winning every game will be crucial to determine where SRH will finish, NKR could come back to the side in the game against PBKS, giving the team a much-needed boost both in the batting and bowling units.
Predicted SRH playing XI vs PBKS
Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (WK), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Aniket Verma, Pat Cummins (C), Harsh Dubey, Sakib Hussain, Harshal Patel
Impact player: Ehsan Malinga
Nitish Reddy, the team’s go-to Indian all-rounder, missed the previous game against KKR due to an illness. The Andhra star has 198 runs from 8 innings, with a highest score of 56 runs in IPL 2026. While he does provide stability to the team’s middle-order at a time of a top-order collapse, his contribution has been majorly with the ball, serving as a go-to pacer for the side. Reddy has taken 6 wickets from 9 matches in IPL 2026, having bowled 126 balls and conceded 228 runs. He hasn’t been economical in this season, going at over 10. But, NKR will be needed by the team to bolster their pace unit which will be spearheaded by captain Pat Cummins and will comprise of Sakib Hussain and Harshal Patel.
Patel is expected to retain his place in the side, which means Praful Hinge will unfortunately have to miss out. The veteran pacer was given just 2 overs in the game against KKR where he conceded 17 runs. While he has played four games for SRH in this season, and has conceded 111 runs from 58 balls, he is yet to take a wicket. However, his familiarity with the surface at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad coupled with his ability to navigate through tough times in the middle and death overs will allow Pat Cummins to think of having him in the playing XI, especially against a formidable Punjab Kings unit.
Ehsan Malinga could be used as an impact player in order to add more firepower to the team’s fast bowling department. Harsh Dubey could remain the sole spinner in the side, given that the surface in Hyderabad hasn’t been kind to spinners, and has rather helped batters dominate them until now in IPL 2026. The last time the two sides played, PBKS handed SRH a 6-wicket thrashing. SRH would want to exact revenge in the reverse fixture.
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