IPL 2026: Predicting SRH strongest playing XI

Sunrisers Hyderabad appeared strong even before the IPL 2026 mini-auction, since the majority of their roster was already decided. Despite having the maximum amount of money available, the 2016 winners elected not to buy any players during the first rounds of the Abu Dhabi auction.

The first player they purchased was Shivang Kumar, an uncapped spinner. The Sunrisers opted to expand into untapped territory and signed six more players. The players are Amit Kumar, Sakib Hussain, Salil Arora, Onkar Tarmale, Praful Hinge, and Krains Fuletra.

In the second round, they chose to engage in bidding wars, acquiring the services of English all-rounder Liam Livingstone for INR 13 crore. SRH also added Shivam Mavi and Jack Edwards to their already amazing squad.

Here is the predicted SRH strongest playing XI for IPL 2026:

Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, and Ishan Kishan are likely to continue to haunt opposition bowling as one of the most feared top three in the Indian Premier League. They will be followed by Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy.

Powering both the batting and bowling, expect Aniket Verma and Liam Livingstone to come in at no. 6 and 7. Livingstone had earned his IPL creds as a finisher, and SRH needed a proper spinner as well, someone who has experience and can guide the youngsters.

Zeeshan Ansari had impressed on his SRH debut last season. The leggie has done well in domestic cricket and will be expected to do the same in IPL 2026.

Coming to the pace attack, Pat Cummins will lead, with Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat for company. Unadkat and Harshal have been excellent in the IPL in recent years and will provide good support to Cummins.

Shivam Mavi and Eshan Malinga can be good choices for the impact players, while Kamindu Mendis and Jack Edwards can be the options when it comes to batting impact players.

Predicted SRH strongest playing XI for IPL 2026:

Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Liam Livingstone, Aniket Verma, Pat Cummins (C), Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari.

Impact player: Shivam Mavi/Eshan Malinga.

Stay updated with the latest cricket news, match insights, and exclusive updates at Sky365 and download the Sky365 App to start betting today!