Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2026 Preview: SRH Predicted Playing XI, Strengths And Weaknesses - All You Need To Know
Sunrisers Hyderabad will face defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their very first game of the season.
With the aim to stick to their strengths, Sunrisers Hyderabad will start their Indian Premier League 2026 campaign on Saturday. They will face defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their very first game of the season. The side will miss the services of its regular captain Pat Cummins, at least in the initial phase of the tournament. In Cummins' absence, man-in-form Ishan Kishan will lead the team. SRH, who ended as runners-up in IPL 2024, faltered last season and finished sixth in the points table with six wins and seven defeats in 14 games.
Strengths
SRH have a superb batting line-up, with their openers - Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head - leading the charge. Number three batter Ishan Kishan is in the form of his life. The side also has a big hitter like Heinrich Klaasen in the middle order. SRH bought Liam Livingstone for Rs 13 crore at the IPL 2026 auction, further strengthening the middle order.
Weaknesses
Injuries have hit the side badly, as their regular captain Pat Cummins will miss the initial few matches. On the other hand, Jack Edwards has already been ruled out of the tournament. This makes SRH's bowling look weak. Harshal Patel picked up 16 wickets in 13 games last season, but leaked runs at an economy rate of 9.81.
Abhishek's approach will also be in focus during the opening few matches. He tried to go hard from the word go during the recently concluded T20 World Cup, and it cost him dearly. The southpaw was exposed against off-spin bowling during the tournament, and his IPL opponents are likely to keep that in mind.
SRH's star all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy failed to live up to expectations last season. In IPL 2025, Reddy scored 182 runs at an average of 22.75 and a strike rate of 118.95. Meanwhile, he picked up only two wickets.
Predicted Playing XI
Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (captain), Heinrich Klaasen (wicketkeeper), Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshal Patel, Harsh Dubey, Brydon Carse and Jaydev Unadkat.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Pat Cummins