Aakash Chopra picks SRH’s taking part in 11 for IPL 2026; doesn’t embody Indian with 25 T20I caps

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra picked the playing 11 for SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) ahead of IPL 2026. The 19th season is set to begin on Saturday, March 28.

Aakash Chopra began with SRH’s top three, picking explosive openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, along with Ishan Kishan at three. In the middle order, he picked Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Liam Livingstone at four, five, and six, respectively.

At seven, he picked Aniket Varma, followed by skipper Pat Cummins at eight. Aakash went with either Zeeshan Ansari or Shivang Kumar as the spinner at nine. For the last two spots, he picked pacers Jaydev Unadkat and Shivam Mavi.

Aakash Chopra’s SRH 11 for IPL 2026 (via CREX) – Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Liam Livingstone, Aniket Verma, Pat Cummins, Zeeshan Ansari/Shivang Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Shivam Mavi.

Surprisingly, he left out an Indian with 25 T20I caps and immense IPL experience, Harshal Patel. He was retained by the franchise for ₹8 crore. In 13 games for them last season, he picked up 16 wickets at an average of 26.87 and an economy rate of 9.80. Overall, he has been a wicket-taker in the IPL, with 151 scalps from 119 matches.

He has also featured in 25 T20Is for India, claiming 29 wickets at an average of 26.55 and an economy rate of 9.18.

SRH will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against defending champions RCB

SRH will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on March 28 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. It is also the opening match of the season.

As per the schedule (first phase), they will play a total of four matches. Their other matches are against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday, April 2, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Sunday, April 5, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, and against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Saturday, April 11, in Chandigarh.

The SunRisers failed to make the playoffs in IPL 2025. They finished sixth on the table with six wins and seven defeats. Cummins and his troops will aim for a better showing this season.