The IPL always has a sense of intrigue. You have teams that are not supposed to be doing very well playing like they are awesome, and teams that are supposed to be awesome not playing like they are at all. And now, as we approach the business end of the tournament, there has been one topic surrounding fans in just about every conversation: how did Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) get to this stage? Just a season ago, they were finishing as finalists in the IPL, and it was a team full of possibilities. This season, they have only won 3 out of 10 matches, and are perilously close to finishing bottom. Let’s go deeper into this and see if indeed they deserve to be the most disappointing team of the season.
The Great Expectation Crash
Before a ball was bowled this season, there was serious chatter about SRH as they appeared primed for success. They had hit the auction table exercise to build balance into the squad, and there was real style associated with their potential depth. Heinrich Klaasen was supposed to be their wild card – explosive, reliable, and in red-hot form after a dream season last year. But instead of titillating us in the stands, Klaasen simply hasn’t looked quite “right”. As Danny Morrison expertly said, could it be the “big E” – expectation – that weighs heavily? In and out of order, Klaasen could simply never find a pace.
And Klaasen is not alone. Mayank Agarwal’s form cratered, Marco Jansen was unable to channel his own magic, and you would think the proven, dependable match-winner, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, looks slightly undercooked. The SRH’s squad of talent is alarmingly flat. This blog has featured plenty of talk about expectation prior to the season, and what was once excitement now feels like a heady joke.
Also read:- What Went Wrong for RR in IPL 2025?
Bowling Blues and Identity Crisis
Remember the good old days of playing against the SRH and being intimidated by the kind of bowling attack they had? Even when they had Warner and Rashid, they would strangle teams with their aggressive accuracy and pressure. Now it’s 2025, and not a whole lot has changed.
Apart from Prasidh Krishna, who has been a unicorn – 19 wickets in 10 games according to Akash Chopra – he’s been left to fight a war of attrition or personal battle. T Natarajan has battled injury and form, and we have not been able to identify any real match winners, with the ball, this season. As Danny Morrison said, there are some bowlers like Mohammed Shami this year, who are no longer in the “channel of uncertainty” – SRH bowlers included. They are bowling on either side of a gift box, and they are significantly less than that.
Leadership & Tactical Woes
All the star power in the world is irrelevant if the right leadership is not in place. While Aiden Markram is still captain, his leadership has been constantly questioned, especially with the decisions surrounding team selection, tactics, and field changes. There has been no tactical sharpness with SRH.
Take this, for example: the team is chopping and changing players without providing players enough time to nail down positions. That is a problem in a format like T20, where role clarification is paramount. After each loss, you could see the body language of the team drop, and not just on the field but in the post-match presentation as well.
What do you reckon? Does SRH officially now qualify as the biggest underachiever of IPL 2025? Given expectations, players available, and they were in the finals last year, it is difficult to justify it NOT being the case. Yes, Chennai and maybe one or two others are looking quite disappointing also, but it looks like the SRH’s fall from grace just seems a bit bigger.
Do you think this is a patch of bad form, or is a complete overhaul of SRH overdue?
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