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Sunrisers Hyderabad come into the Indian Premier League 2026 to win a 2nd IPL trophy. Besides winning the title in 2016, SRH have been the two-time runners-up. SRH finished sixth last season and were the finalists a year before in 2024. It remains to be seen how SRH come up fighting this season.

SRH come into the 19th edition of IPL as a side wanting to express themselves. An explosive side, this time around, they are hoping for a better performance but have been plagued by some key injuries, especially that of their captain, Pat Cummins.

Cummins, who is set to miss the initial stage of the IPL, will be replaced by Ishan Kishan in the interim. Kishan led Jharkhand to the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy win. The squad has also been hit by the loss of pace-bowling all-rounder Jack Edwards, who was ruled out with a foot injury. SRH brought in left-arm seamer David Payne as his replacement.

SRH full squad
Ishan Kishan (c/wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Aniket Verma, Smaran Ravichandran, Salil Arora, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins, Liam Livingstone, Kamindu Mendis, Krains Fuletra, Brydon Carse, Praful Hinge, Sakib Hussain, Onkar Tarmale, Jaydev Unadkat, Shivam Mavi, Harshal Patel, Eshan Malinga, David Payne, Harsh Dubey, Amit Kumar, Zeeshan Ansari.

SRH Retained Players List
Pat Cummins (c), Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aniket Verma, R. Smaran, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Kamindu Mendis, Harshal Patel, Brydon Carse, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga, Zeeshan Ansari.

Players purchased by SRH at the mini-auction
Salil Arora, Shivang Kumar, Sakib Hussain, Onkar Tarmale, Krains Fuletra, Praful Hinge, Amit Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Liam Livingstone, and Jack Edwards.

Strengths of SRH Squad for IPL 2026
Kishan has been in outstanding T20 form since January 2026, scoring 532 runs at a blistering strike rate of 207, making him the leading run-scorer in this period. His likely role at No. 3 adds significant aggression to the batting lineup.

Meanwhile, SRH’s opening pair, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, remain one of the most explosive duos in T20 cricket, boasting a record partnership run rate of 12.56. Despite a recent dip, their power play dominance is still a key strength.

Klaasen is a firepower in the middle for SRH and boasts quality. One can put in Smaran Ravichandran, who is a class, domestic player. Liam Livingstone and Kamindu Mendis bring more stability in the middle.

You also have Aniket Verma, who has shown his mettle. All-rounder Nitish Reddy is also promising.
SRH has a decent pace attack. In Harshal Patel, Eshan Malinga, and Jaydev Unadkat, there is enough firepower in the ranks. Brydon Carse is also present alongside Cummins, who will be expected to make a return in the halfway stage.

Weaknesses of SRH
SRH struggled heavily with spin last season, taking only 15 wickets—far fewer than any other team—and conceding runs at a high economy of 9.80. Their spin attack lacked both control and impact. The inclusion of Liam Livingstone is a plus; however, he isn’t enough to address this issue. Harsh Dubey, Zeeshan Ansari, and Mendis are the other spin options.

Cummins not being available for quite a part of the season is a massive blow. His presence as a bowler and also as a leader will be missed. Cummins was amongst the wickets for SRH in the last two seasons.

SRH also lacks bench strength with the bat. If their key players fail, they could struggle to replace them.
Probable XI of SRH

Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (captain), Heinrich Klaasen (wicketkeeper), S Ravichandran, Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshal Patel, Brydon Carse, Jaydev Unadkat.
Who can be SRH’s impact players?

With the Impact Player rule, teams can name five substitutes and use one of them when needed. If four foreign players are already named in the XI, the impact player can only be an Indian. SRH’s best balance is the above-mentioned starting XI owing to the resources. So if they bat first, Verma will fit in. And then during bowling, he could be replaced by someone like Dubey or Ansari.

IPL 2026: SRH can struggle to make it to the playoffs
SRH is a high-risk, high-reward team. If their bowling holds up even slightly, their batting firepower makes them a top-4 contender. However, if they fail to defend totals in the first few games without Cummins, they could face another uphill battle like last year. Spin is an issue, and this could make them suffer.
FAQs about SRH Squad for IPL 2026

Who is the captain of SRH for IPL 2026?
Ishan Kishan will lead the SRH side in IPL 2026 until Pat Cummins returns.
When was SRH’s squad announced?

The Sunrisers Hyderabad announced their full squad for the IPL 2026 season following the mini-auction on December 16, 2025.
Who are the new players in the squad?

Salil Arora, Shivang Kumar, Sakib Hussain, Onkar Tarmale, Krains Fuletra, Praful Hinge, Amit Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Liam Livingstone, Jack Edwards.
Pace-bowling all-rounder Jack Edwards was ruled out with a foot injury. SRH brought in left-arm seamer David Payne as his replacement.