SRH strategy for IPL 2026 auction: Pathirana or Nortje as Mohammed Shami’s replacement?

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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.

PlayerType
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 SharmaIndian 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 AgarwalTop-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.

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