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Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) never really got it right in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. Coming in as one of the favourites to win, Hyderabad bowed out after 11 matches. However, in reality, they were out of reckoning even before that.
SRH were banking on their explosive batters to work wonders, just like last season. But that didn’t happen. Most of their batters looked out of touch in the first half of IPL 2025. By the time they got into their grooves, it was too late. That’s why, before the IPL 2026 auction, they’ll have to sort things out.
To begin with, they’ll have to see whether they want to retain all of their batters. Since they have a lot of all-rounders, it’s something to ponder about. However, there are a few non-negotiables. Batters who must be retained.
5 batters SRH should retain for IPL 2026
On top of that list will be Travis Head. The Aussie opener had a middling season by his 2024 standard but still was pretty good. No SRH batter with more than 120 runs to their name has a higher strike rate than Head, 178.89.
Then comes Heinrich Klaasen, the highest-paid retention in history. His record looked the same on paper, but since the top order didn’t work often, his knocks didn’t have the same impact. However, there aren’t many keeper batters like him, and retaining him seems like a no-brainer.
Ishan Kishan wasn’t at his best, but there aren’t many top-order batters who can also wicket-keep like him in the domestic circuit. Considering how off-colour he was last season, you can expect Kishan to perform much better than he did.
| Travis Head | Opener | 14.00 crore | 374 runs at 31.16 & strike rate of 162.60 |
| Ishan Kishan | Opener | 11.25 crore | 354 runs at 35.40 & strike rate of 152.58 |
| Heinrich Klaasen | Middle order keeper batter | 23.00 crore | 487 runs at 44.27 & strike rate of 172.69 |
| Aniket Verma | Middle order batter | 30.00 lakh | 236 runs at 26.22 & strike rate of 166.19 |
| Ravichandran Smaran | Middle order batter | 30.00 lakh | Did not play |
Aniket Verma was one of the biggest surprises of IPL 2025. Out of nowhere, the 23-year-old came and started bashing bowlers. All things considered, he might have been SRH’s best batter. He played excellent cameos throughout the season. For someone worth just INR 30 lakh, his results were extraordinary.
The fifth pick should be Ravichandran Smaran. The 22-year-old batter from Karnataka had joined SRH as an injury replacement for Adam Zampa but was ruled out of the IPL 2025 with an injury himself. In his short T20 career, Smaran averages 34 with a strike rate of 170. These numbers are exceptional despite a short sample size. He also scored a double hundred in the Ranji Trophy recently, which shows he’s a proper batter.
SRH squad (batters) ahead of IPL 2026 auction
Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (wk), Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Sachin Baby, Aniket Verma, Ravichandran Smaran, Abhinav Manohar
Abhishek Sharma and Atharva Taide are considered all-rounders
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