IPL 2025: SunRisers Hyderabad SWOT Analysis

In this article, we offer you our SWOT analysis of the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) following the IPL 2025 Mega Auction. 

Strength

The SunRisers have come out of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction with one of the best squads on paper. They were bold and aggressive in the auction and added pieces that should make their playing XI that much more competitive, with key additions in the both their batting and bowling departments. 

The SRH paid the highest retention fee to bring back Heinrich Klaasen (INR 23 crore), with their opening duo Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, along with Nitish Kumar Reddy and captain Pat Cummins, completing the retention list. 

The addition of Ishan Kishan makes the SRH top five one of the most explosive batting lineups in the league, as evident from their exploits last season. They have also added Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis and English all-rounder Brydon Carse to add the finishing touches. 

Moreover, the addition of Mohammed Shami and Harshal Patel improves their fast-bowling department considerably, with the former having starred in particular for the Gujarat Titans during their 2022 title-winning run. Besides, the Impact Sub rule will also allow Pat Cummins to use both Jaydev Unadkat and Harshal Patel during death overs, leaving himself and Shami to do the damage up front. 

Weakness

Irrespective of all the good things highlighted above, there is one aspect of this SRH side that hits you right in the face—their lack of quality Indian spinners. 

As things stand, last year’s finalists only have Rahul Chahar as their bona fide spin bowler. Despite their quality batting order and variety of fast bowlers, the Hyderabad side seem to have missed a trick by not strengthening their spin-bowling department.

Chahar, the 25-year-old Rajasthan-based leg-break bowler, endured two sub-par seasons with the Punjab Kings in 2023 and 2024, picking up only 18 wickets in 22 outings at an economy rate of over 8.5. 

Although they have the luxury to either field Adam Zampa or Kamindu Mendis to navigate through slow and turning wickets, the SRH will likely need to bench Carse, who’s having an excellent time with the England national team. 

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Opportunity

Following his breakthrough season with the SunRisers last term, Andhra Pradesh all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy will be coming into IPL 2025 as a full-fledged India international. There were instances last year when the SRH top order collapsed; the 21-year-old will add consistency and temperament to their middle order as evident from his recent exploits Down Under. 

With the likes of Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen, and Pat Cummins being one of the first names on the team sheet, it leaves Brydon Carse and Kamindu Mendis fighting it out for that fourth overseas slot. While both Carse and Mendis provide explosive fire-power lower down the batting order, the 29-year-old Englishman gives the team fast-bowling depth, whereas Mendis will provide them with a second spin-bowling option, which will particularly come handy during the latter stages of the league phase as the pitches become dusty and weary. 

Another player who can have a big say this season is Kerala veteran Sachin Baby. The 36-year-old has been in fine form in the domestic circuit, scoring runs at a rate well above 160 in T20 cricket while averaging above 80 in red-ball cricket.

Threat

The main threat to the SunRisers’ aspirations will be their lack of Indian batting depth. With Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Abhinav Manohar all primed to start, the team are only left with Sachin Baby and the 22-year-old Aniket Verma to turn to if one of their main batters fails to fire or goes down with injury. The SRH management will be hoping that, ideally, none of their key batters go down injured. For a team with all the ingredients to go all the way, only injuries and a sudden drop in form can derail their aspirations of winning their second IPL trophy in the coming season. 

Probable XII: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Nitish Reddy, Abhinav Manohar, Brydon Carse, Pat Cummins, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami, Rahul Chahar, Jaydev Unadkat (Impact Sub) 

Prediction: 4th