IPL 2025: Top 3 players SRH might release ahead of the mega-auction

Sunrisers Hyderabad. (Source -IPL/BCCI)

After three catastrophically lackluster seasons for the IPL (Indian Premier League) franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) from 2021 onwards, the sun finally appeared to rise on the fortune of the 2016 winners. Notably, they enjoyed a fairly smooth campaign in the last edition, as they registered eight victories in the 13 matches that were played to completion. While their penultimate game was washed out.

There were plenty of positives to reflect upon, despite them getting severely overpowered in the final. It was after a long time that their batting as well as bowling units clicked in the same campaign. However, as much as the franchise might not like it, the impending mega-auction ahead of the 18th edition will require SRH to offload some of its players, in addition to retaining three of them.

Here are three key players SRH can release ahead of IPL 2025:

3. Umran Malik

Sunrisers Hyderabad might be keen on parting ways with the Jammu & Kashmir-born speedster despite him stirring supporters as well as cricket connoisseurs alike, with his brisk speed not only proving too hot to handle for batters but also helping him accrue 22 dismissals in SRH’s 2022 installment in the IPL.

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However, ever since the wonder season, Umran Malik just hasn’t shown the same promise for SRH. The season to follow was accompanied by mediocre numbers of just five wickets in eight matches, that too at a bountifully high economy rate of 10.85. This led to him getting reduced to being a bench warmer for the remainder of the games, a trend that saw him play just a single game in the IPL 2024 season.

Apart from him proving to be expensive, his track record with injuries as well as illnesses has also not been one to inspire confidence from. Just after IPL 2024, Umran injured his hamstring post which he was down with a bout of dengue.

2. Pat Cummins

As surprising as it might sound, there could be a realistic likelihood of SRH letting go of their current star Captain and Australian skipper ahead of the IPL 2025 mega-auction. Having been brought into the Hyderabad setup for a whopping INR 20.50 crore, there might be two alternatives that the management might be targeting. One would be the buying back of Cummins in the mega-auction for a relatively lower price.

The other route would be getting rid of Cummins from the roster, and buying two or maybe even three players for a cumulative price of the same amount Cummins was originally acquired for. There might be a mix of young talent as well as one or a couple of international superstars who might fit the bill.

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The third reason would be the fact that the Sunrisers already have a leader in the form of their former skipper Aiden Markram as well as Bhuvneshwar Kumar being a potential option for skippering the side as well if injury strikes. The management might as well be thinking of integrating a more role-specific all-rounder as compared to Cummins.

1. Mayank Agarwal

The couple of seasons Mayank Agarwal has been with Sunrisers Hyderabad have been lukewarm, to say the least. Barring his 83 which came in the 2023 edition, the top-order batter failed to make a mark in any of the remaining matches that season, with the knock against the Mumbai Indians being his sole half-century in that tournament.

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Coming to the most recent season, Agarwal was expected to make a difference and step up his game. However, he failed to do so and instead was dropped from the XI after just four games. The team management also failed to demonstrate any kind of trust within Agarwal.

The leadership would also take into consideration the fact that Agarwal failed to convert a season in which he accounted for a tally of more than 400 runs at the very least, since the 2018 edition ever since he has been provided constant backing to prove himself.