Sunrisers Hyderabad head into the IPL 2026 mini-auction with a relatively modest purse of Rs 25.50 crore, but significant room to fine-tune their squad. With 10 slots available, including two overseas spots, SRH are expected to focus on addressing specific tactical weaknesses rather than making sweeping changes.
SRH squad overview
Probable playing XII:
Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Reddy, Aniket Verma, Pat Cummins (captain), Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Eshan Malinga, Domestic pacer
Other squad members:
Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, Brydon Carse, Kamindu Mendis
What SRH need at the auction
The most significant call SRH made ahead of the auction was releasing Mohammed Shami, a decision that has left a noticeable gap in the new-ball bowling department. While Harshal Patel and Eshan Malinga are specialists at the death, SRH struggled badly in the powerplay in IPL 2025, making early breakthroughs a priority going into the new season.
As a result, SRH are expected to target a new-ball specialist — ideally someone who can swing the ball upfront and ease the burden on Pat Cummins during the opening overs.
On the batting front, Smaran Ravichandran’s role remains fluid. Despite his consistent rise in domestic cricket, whether he becomes a regular in the starting XII will depend on how SRH shape their auction strategy. The franchise released Abhinav Manohar, Wiaan Mulder, Sachin Baby, and Atharva Taide, which means middle-order and backup batting depth is now thin.
Given this, SRH are likely to add domestic batting cover, and could even use one of their remaining overseas slots to secure a backup overseas batter, particularly as insurance for Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen across a long season.
Spin bowling appears to be the least urgent concern. Despite releasing Rahul Chahar and Adam Zampa, SRH are relatively comfortable with the emergence of Harsh Dubey and the encouraging performances of Zeeshan Ansari in the previous IPL.
Potential targets for SRH
With limited overseas flexibility and a mid-range purse, SRH are expected to focus on value buys, particularly among Indian players who can slot straight into the XI:
- Auqib Nabi – new-ball pacer with powerplay utility
- Akash Deep – proven domestic seamer with swing
- Ashok Sharma – Indian pace option
- Sarfaraz Khan – domestic batting depth and middle-order cover
- Deepak Hooda – all-round option with spin and experience
- Mahipal Lomror – left-handed batting all-rounder
- Kartik Sharma – wicketkeeper-batter depth
Auction outlook
SRH’s auction strategy is expected to be targeted and pragmatic. With a settled top order and a defined bowling core, their focus will be on fixing the powerplay bowling issue, adding batting backups, and ensuring enough squad depth to navigate injuries and form fluctuations. Unlike teams chasing headline names, SRH’s success at the auction will hinge on how efficiently they fill role-specific gaps within their limited budget.
