Ahead of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League, there were a lot of expectations from Sunrisers Hyderabad to shine through and kickstart proceedings in grand fashion. After all, they had had a stellar mega auction prior to the commencement of the two-month spectacle, which saw the franchise bolster their already-stacked squad.
However, their IPL 2025 season has started off on an utterly lacklustre tone. Barring their tournament opener against Rajasthan Royals which SRH ended up on the winning side by 44 runs, they have not been able to replicate those kinds of performances in the games to follow. They were also the first side to play five games this season. However, they are placed at the bottom of the points table. In this article, CricTracker discusses the proposed changes for SRH that could get them back to their winning momentum.
3 changes SRH should make to get to winning ways
1. Top-order should implement a shift from their go-hard-or-go-home approach
The five matches of SRH have seen only one game in which the opening duo of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan at No. 3 have all ended up registering double-digit scores. Two games have been such that the troika have all been back in the pavilion by the end of the powerplay.
It has been easily more than once that the left-handed trio have thrown away their wickets via rash or unnecessary shots. The game against RR was probably the only instance SRH played on a belter of a batting track. Considering they don’t play on pitches that conducive to batting in the future, it would be wise if the naturally aggressive batters tone down their approach to play in a more calculated fashion.
2. Using Impact Substitutes more effectively
In the five matches so far, Adam Zampa has come in as SRH’s Impact Player twice. This particular switch hasn’t worked out for the Orange Army. The leg-spinner ended up conceding 40-plus runs in his four-over spells on both the occasions. Even in the rest of the games, including one in which Zeeshan Ansari was subbed out for Head, not much notable effect was observed.
The entire purpose of the Impact Player is to bring in an X factor into a particular unit’s setup, be it with bat or ball. However, it has not got SRH’s way up until now. There have been many sides in the current edition which have been able to utilise their options in a highly efficient manner. Going forward, it would be crucial for SRH’s team management to cash in on this aspect.
3. Find better pacer over Simarjeet Singh
27-year-old Simarjeet Singh has had a torrid start to IPL 2025. The right-arm medium pacer has bowled 10 overs in the four games he has featured in, conceding at an economy rate of 14.10. The wickets’ column has offered little to show, too, with only two wickets being secured. Simarjeet has just not able to find his rhythm up until now, which has been one of the many reasons for SRH’s poor performances this season.
It would be in SRH’s best interest if they sideline Simarjeet for the time being and bring in a more reliable bowling option. They don’t really have a lot of bowling reserves. However, they could incorporate the likes of the seasoned Jaydev Unadkat or the emerging leg-spinning talent of Zeeshan Ansari into their XI more often than they have been doing thus far.
