Former India player Aakash Chopra has picked the SunRisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) probable playing XI for IPL 2026. He predicted Ishan Kishan and Harshal Patel to be their highest run-scorer and wicket-taker, respectively.
SRH retained 15 players heading into the IPL 2026 auction. They acquired 10 players at the mini auction last year to assemble a full-strength 25-member squad.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ the former India batter picked SRH’s likely top eight in Pat Cummins‘ absence for the start of IPL 2026.
“What could be the playing XI? Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Liam Livingstone and Aniket Verma, you have got this fantastic batting lineup, followed by Brydon Carse. So you have absolutely solid batting till No. 8,” he said.
Chopra chose his specialist bowlers and noted that while Shivam Mavi should be given the new ball, Harshal should be used more at the death.
“After that, Jaydev Unadkat, Harshal Patel, Zeeshan Ansari/Shivang Kumar/Shivam Mavi. This is the kind of setup that you need to have. I see Shivam Mavi playing. He can bowl with the new ball and Harshal Patel can catch the tail. Brydon Carse can be seen bowling at both ends, and then you get either Shivang Kumar or Zeeshan Ansari to bowl in the middle,” he elaborated.
While opining that SRH would have to use Liam Livingstone, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma with the ball, the cricketer-turned-commentator chose Kishan and Harshal as their likely top run-getter and wicket-taker, respectively.
“You will have to use the all-rounders a little more, in which Liam Livingstone will be there, and a few overs of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. Who could be this team’s highest run-scorer? I would say Ishan Kishan. Highest wicket-taker? I would say Harshal Patel,” Chopra observed.
With 487 runs at a strike rate of 172.69 in 13 innings, Heinrich Klaasen was the SunRisers Hyderabad’s highest run-scorer in IPL 2025. Pat Cummins and Harshal Patel, with 16 scalps apiece, were their most successful bowlers last season.
“They haven’t even tried to address it” – Aakash Chopra on SRH’s bowling issues heading into IPL 2026
In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that the SunRisers Hyderabad didn’t even try to address their bowling issues in the IPL 2026 auction after trading out Mohammad Shami to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
“The batting is very good, but the bowling is not giving you the same kind of confidence, and they haven’t even tried to address it. They had Mohammad Shami. They have let him also go,” he said.
The analyst expressed pessimism about SRH’s chances in IPL 2026 unless they win at least five of their seven home games.
‘Where will this team reach? It could be a tough season for them. If they get absolutely flat pitches in the seven home games, they could be a force to reckon with. If they win five of those seven matches, suddenly they need only three away wins. Things might change very radically, or else you can plan very easily against this team,” Chopra observed.
Aakash Chopra highlighted that opposing teams will likely prepare bowler-friendly pitches for the SunRisers Hyderabad’s away games. He highlighted that such pitches would nullify SRH’s batting, with their bowling not being good enough to exploit those conditions unless they are strategically excellent.
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Edited by Kartik Iyer
