IPL 2025: 5 Auction blunders by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)

With a redesigned squad and a daring auction approach, Sunrisers Hyderabad went into the 2025 IPL season with great expectations. Expectations skyrocketed because of bold acquisitions like Pat Cummins and Ishan Kishan. Their uneven on-field performance, however, has shown weaknesses in their strategy.

Despite possessing a strong starting lineup, injuries, a weak bench, and tactical blunders have caused SRH's campaign to falter. Due to several significant loopholes that continue to harm them, their auction decisions are currently being scrutinized. These 5 auction mistakes proved to be fatal for SRH in IPL 2025.

Here are the 5 IPL 2025 auction blunders by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH):

1. Misfiring decision to buy Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan wasn’t retained by the Mumbai Indians, and Sunrisers Hyderabad gobbled the Jharkhand keeper-batter for INR 11.25 crores. This is despite SRH having Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, and Heinrich Klassen for batting might. Kishan started in great fashion, scoring a century in his first match for SRH.

However, the fire burned out quickly, and Kishan scored only 96 more runs in the next 10 games. A player who was fired due to inconsistency spent a significant portion of the purse. That money would have been better spent on death bowlers or strengthening the bench.

2. Ignored lower-order big-hitting finishers

SRH had decided to let go of Abdul Samad, who had done a great job as a finisher in the lower order. They instead banked on Aniket Verma and Nitish Kumar Reddy to do the job. As a result, SRH found it difficult to finish innings without a dependable power bat at Nos. 6 or 7.

In a tournament where games are frequently decided by powerful endings, this proved to be a huge tactical blunder. Aniket Verma played one good knock and then nothing. The failure of a good finisher hampered SRH and put a burden on the top four to score big in every game.

3. No quality Indian spinners

One of the biggest blunders SRH made in the auction was not going for a big-name Indian spinner. They did pick Adam Zampa and Rahul Chahar, along with Zeeshan Ansari. There is not much variation in SRH's spin unit, particularly in the dearth of a good off-spinner who may cause problems for left-handers.

Particularly on slower surfaces in the second half of the competition, spin is essential, and SRH lacked it, particularly following Zampa's injury. They used Zeeshan Ansari but surprisingly let Rahul Chahar rot on the bench, despite having more experience than Ansari. This caused SRH to get eliminated from the race for the IPL 2025 playoffs.

4. Not retaining Aiden Markram

Aiden Markram had been an investment by SRH in IPL 2022, 2023, and 2024. He even captained SRH in IPL 2023. However, he was let go ahead of the mega auction before the IPL 2025 and was gobbled up by Lucknow Super Giants. By doing so, SRH let go of a consistent batter at the top order and a useful off-spinner.

Markram could bat in the middle order and could also finish the games. After losing early wickets, SRH will be lacking a fulcrum if he is let go without a comparable replacement. His leadership abilities and experience were also underappreciated strengths. His batting against spin was a huge asset that SRH let go.

5. No dependent Indian pacer

In a shocking move, SRH also parted ways with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, their longtime vice-captain, ex-captain, and someone who headed the pace attack. This left SRH with overseas bowlers in Pat Cummins, Marco Jansen, and a replacement in Mohammad Shami and Harshal Patel.

Shami picked 6 wickets in 9 games, while Harshal has 14 wickets, mainly in death overs, when batters are looking for quick runs. When they failed, SRH had to depend on Jaydev Unadkat and other pacers. But by then, the ship had sailed, and SRH missed the bus to the IPL 2025 playoffs.

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