SRH selected the majority of the players at their base pricing in the auction. They did, however, spend a lot of money on England all-rounder Liam Livingstone, who is one of modern cricket’s most powerful ball strikers.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra stated that Sunrisers Hyderabad will continue to play an aggressive style of cricket after signing some explosive batsmen in the IPL 2026 mini-auction on Tuesday, December 16. However, he highlighted concerns about the bowling department, stating that the previous champions may score and give 300-plus runs in matches this season.
“They have made their batting very strong. It could be 300-plus this time, but they might be hit for 300 as well. The opposing team might also hit 300. I hope it works out, because they will play an entertaining brand of cricket for sure, but is it a great strategy? I don’t know,” Chopra said in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
Chopra noted that if Livingstone plays every game, that would not allow SRH to play either Eshan Malinga or Brydon Carse, who can bowl with the new ball. Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen, and captain Pat Cummins are certainties in the playing XI barring any injuries. The Orange Army also traded Mohammed Shami, who can bowl upfront, to the Lucknow Super Giants last month. So it’s evident that SRH are a bit light on new-ball bowlers.
“If you have taken Liam Livingstone, it means that you will play him for sure. That implies you won’t be able to play Eshan Malinga or Brydon Carse with the new ball, and that leaves you with nobody who actually bowls in the powerplay overs. It was a big takeaway that you let (Mohammad) Shami go. So at some stage, you need a pacer, a new-ball bowler. They have not got it,” he observed.
Aakash Chopra analyses SRH’s spin-bowling resources
The cricketer-turned-expert believes that the spin attack is also not very threatening, especially after the experienced Rahul Chahar was released last month.
“After that, in spin, they let Rahul Chahar go. Zeeshan Ansari and Shivang Kumar are there. Shivang apparently is bowling well, but is it an upgrade? I don’t think so. So I am seeing a slight concern there,” Chopra said.
India
