Kamal Ghorui
Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa has cast serious doubts over Sunrisers Hyderabad’s chances in IPL 2026, stating that despite their explosive batting lineup, they are “not a serious title contender.” Speaking on JioHotstar, Uthappa acknowledged SRH’s aggressive approach with the bat but emphasized that it alone cannot win championships.“SRH’s aggressive batting is entertaining to watch. But batting like that won’t help them win the IPL. Their bowling is a bit on the weaker side. Bowlers are the ones who make you win the trophy,” said Uthappa.Uthappa suggested that SRH’s bowling is a concern and the bowlers need to bowl with not too much pace on Hyderabad’s ‘flat wickets’.“In Hyderabad, where they play seven matches, the pitch is a batting paradise. It is a super belter wicket. Even someone like Mohammed Shami could not be penetrative on those flat wickets. You need a bowler like Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He is a very clever guy. He swings the ball, changes pace, bowls yorkers. At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, you don’t want to put too much pace on the ball because the ball does not seam around much. I don’t think SRH have the bowling unit right now that can back the instability their aggressive batting can cause if the top order does not fire.”
Captaincy blow adds to concerns
SRH suffered a big blow ahead of the season when their skipper, Pat Cummins, was ruled out of the first few matches due to an injury. Ishan Kishan will lead the franchise in his absence. Uthappa also stressed that SRH’s bowling has failed to defend whenever their batters have failed to score a big total.“We saw what happened last season. Apart from Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen, no other batter was able to step up. When the top order failed, the bowlers were not able to defend the totals. So I won’t consider SRH as a serious title contender this season,” concluded Uthappa.
SRH squad for IPL 2026 season:
Salil Arora, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Ravichandran Smaran, Aniket Verma, Abhishek Sharma, Brydon Carse, Harsh Dubey, Liam Livingstone, Kamindu Mendis, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Mavi, Pat Cummins, Amit Kumar, Krains Fuletra, Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga, Harshal Patel, Sakib Hussain, Shivang Kumar, Onkar Tarmale, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari.
