IPL 2025: Five Domestic Players Who Can Make A Difference For Sunrisers Hyderabad

With the most destructive batting attack in the league, the Sunrisers Hyderabad marched to the IPL 2024 final at ease before getting humbled by three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the final hurdle. With most of their batting order intact and a few shrewd additions to their bowling line-up, can the Sunrisers go one step further and claim their second IPL title this season? 

In this article, we take a look at the five domestic players who can make a difference for the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Harshal Patel

The 34-year-old former India international had an excellent IPL 2024 with the Punjab Kings, finishing top of the Purple Cap race with 24 wickets in just 14 innings. Although Patel was on the expensive side, going at 9.73 runs per over, his knack of picking wickets especially in the death overs, helped his team manage the death overs better. 

Now donning the orange of the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Harshal Patel will be asked to provide support for the likes of Pat Cummins and Mohammed Shami, who throughout last season struggled to tie down batters in the death overs. In the lead up to the tournament, Patel had been in decent form, picking up 11 wickets in just seven innings at an economy rate of 7.46. With long square boundaries and their habit of throwing in occasional slow pitches, Harshal Patel will be a key player for SRH this coming season. 

Simarjeet Singh

After not playing the entirety of IPL 2023, Delhi’s 27-year-old seamer Simarjeet Singh played some crucial games for the Chennai Super Kings last season in the absence of key regular starters, picking up five wickets in four games, including a 3-26 against the Rajasthan Royals in match 61. 

Following IPL 2024, Simarjeet had an excellent Delhi Premier League, picking up 18 wickets in just ten games, followed by another decent outing in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he picked up nine wickets and went at just 7.58 runs per over. Given SRH’s limited resources with just a 20-man squad, it is very likely that the team management will look to shuffle around their bowlers, in order to give proper rest and recovery time to key assets like Mohammed Shami. 

Abhishek Sharma

Punjab’s Abhishek Sharma emerged as one of the most destructive batters last season. The 24-year-old southpaw was responsible for hitting the most sixes by a batter (42), and alongside Australian Travis Head, the two left-handers were key to SRH making it to their first IPL final since 2018. Sharma ended his IPL 2024 campaign with 484 runs in just 16 innings, scoring at a strike rate of 204.22. 

Having represented India across various T20I series since, against the likes of Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and South Africa, the 24-year-old has been in stellar form in the lead up to this season’s edition. Sharma scored 255 runs in just seven innings at a strike rate of 216 in SMAT, followed by 467 runs in eight innings at the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy. There’s no doubt that the young 24-year-old batter will have a key role to play if SRH are to go one step further this campaign. 

Sachin Baby

The Sunrises Hyderabad are a bit thin with their Indian batters. Apart from Nitish Kumar Reddy and Abhinav Manohar, they don’t have anyone with IPL experience to bat in their middle order. The 36-year-old left hander in that regard, can prove to be the ideal back-up or Impact Sub, especially taking into consideration the form he’s in. 

Across both red and white ball formats, Sachin Baby has been in excellent form, scoring runs at will and helping his side win matches. Baby won the Kerala Premier League with the Aries Kollam Sailors, finishing the tournament as the highest run-getter with 528 runs, including an unbeaten 105 off 54 balls in the final. He has scored 280 runs in just seven innings at the Ranji Elite stages and despite Kerala’s poor showing, ended SMAT with two half centuries and a respectable strike rate of 158. 

Abhinav Manohar

Karnataka’s Abhinav Manohar has found his new home with the Sunrisers Hyderabad this season. Having struggled for game time last season with the Gujarat Titans, the 30-year-old middle order batsman was roped in for INR 3.2 crore by SRH during the 2025 mega auction. Prior to the auction, Manohar displayed excellent form in the Maharaja T20 League, scoring 507 runs in just ten innings at a strike rate of 197.51. 

Following the auction, Manohar carried on his good work at SMAT, scoring 106 runs at a strike rate of 147 coming lower down the order. In the recently concluded VHT, which Karnataka ended up winning, Manohar scored a crucial 42-ball 79 in the final, and ended the season with 235, striking at 145 and averaging 47. With an evident lack of lower order option in the SRH ranks, the 30-year-old can be the ideal Impact Sub option when chasing targets.