Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) finished sixth last season. Almost everything went against them. Their ultra-aggressive style of play didn’t work, as most of their batters found themselves out of form. Despite that, coming into the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction, SRH have to just find a few quality replacements and backups.
SRH retention list
Pat Cummins✈️, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen✈️ (wk), Travis Head✈️, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ishan Kishan (wk), Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Aniket Verma, Kamindu Mendis✈️, Eshan Malinga✈️, Brydon Carse✈️, Harsh Dubey, Smaran Ravichandran, Zeeshan Ansari
SRH released players list
Abhinav Manohar, Adam Zampa✈️, Atharva Taide (wk), Rahul Chahar, Sachin Baby, Simarjeet Singh, Wiaan Mulder✈️, Mohammed Shami (traded)?
Purse & slots for IPL 2026 auction
SRH has the third-highest purse for the IPL auction 2026 — INR 25.50 crore. But considering they need to fill just 3 slots to reach the minimum squad strength and 10 slots for a maximum of 25 players, the number isn’t all too bad. At best, SRH can acquire 2 overseas players, as they have retained 6 already.
Players SRH should target at IPL 2026 auction
SRH has to fill the void left by Mohammed Shami. They’ll have to get a foreign new-ball bowler pacer to make up for it, since you can’t find a domestic replacement for Shami at a mini auction. Adam Zampa and Wiaan Mulder’s departure means they’ll either have to get an overseas all-rounder or spinner to make up for it. They can’t do both.
| Player | Type |
|---|---|
| Matheesha Pathirana/Gerald Coetzee/Anrich Nortje/ Spencer Johnson/Matt Henry/Gus Atkinson/ Fazalhaq Farooqi/Lungi Ngidi/Will O’Rourke | Foreign fast bowler |
| Mahipal Lomror/Deepak Hooda/ Tanush Kotian/Hritik Shokeen | Indian spin all-rounder |
| Luvnith Sisodia/Vansh Bedi/Kartik Sharma | Indian Wicketkeeper |
| Rajvardhan Hangargekar/Vijay Shankar/ Eden Apple Tom/Kamlesh Nagarkoti/ Manoj Bhandage | Indian pace all-rounder |
| Liam Livingstone/Wanindu Hasaranga/ Michael Bracewell/Mujeeb Ur Rahman/ Maheesh Theekshana/Daniel Sams/ Matthew Short/Kyle Jamieson | Foreign all-rounder/ Foreign spinner |
| Shaik Rasheed/Yash Dhull/Mayank Agarwal | Top-order batter |
| Chetan Sakariya/Akash Madhwal/ Akash Deep/Shivam Mavi/ Ashok Sharma | Indian fast bowler |
| Ravi Bishnoi/Karn Sharma/ Kumar Kartikeya/Vignesh Puthur | Indian spinner |
They have two wicketkeepers, but will need another backup. Although Aniket Verma played the finisher’s role, they might look for someone like an all-rounder who can whack the ball at number seven or eight. They’ll look for another domestic spinner, someone who can replace one of Zeeshan Ansari and Harsh Dubey, if need be.
Simarjeet Singh’s release means another quality Indian fast bowler is needed. If not one, two can be acquired as well since SRH don’t really need many middle-order or top-order batters.
Editor's Pick
Cricket
IPL's brand value wiped out by INR 21576 crore before the 2026 season, RCB & CSK affected
Top Stories
