IPL Retention Review | Shami on chopping block as Sunrisers Hyderabad look for bowling reshuffle

Sunrisers Hyderabad's run to the final in IPL 2024 went down as one of the most entertaining seasons put together by a franchise in tournament history. They unsurprisingly doubled down on their all-out philosophy by making Heinrich Klaasen the most expensive retention ever with a 23-crore deal, and twisted the bullhorns further at the auction by acquiring Ishan Kishan for 11.25 crores. The laggards were on them with scrutiny like a rash, but when the 2016 champions smashed 286/6 in their opening encounter, with a Kishan ton to boot, no less, the revolution seemed to have had its redemption moment. Under all the pyrotechnics, though, perhaps what slipped under the radar is that their opposition also managed 241 in response. When their batting inevitably tumbled thereafter, the bowling appeared toothless to scrape anything back, and six losses in seven games doomed them to their fate. The question now resurfaces: does Sunrisers stick to its cataclysmic ways or will the reality check force brutal pragmatism to prevail?

Is SRH's gung-ho style the way of the future?

IPL trends suggest the answer is unequivocally yes. The 18th edition had the most fours, sixes, 200-plus totals, mammoth chases, and every other scoring record imaginable. Not only have the decks at regular IPL venues as a whole seem to have grown flatter, the boundary ropes also seem to be more drawn in with each passing year. The introduction of the Impact Player rule has further induced teams to play with stacked batting orders, and the Sunrisers just seemed to have cracked the code early. Of course, they are far from perfect at executing that template, and could do by absorbing some caution instead of throwing it all to the wind, but that is boring talk. The interesting part is that in 13 completed encounters, they surpassed 185 seven times, which shows their batting was not all that bad. They still had the third-best strike rate in the middle overs, struck at over 170 at the death, and had middling powerplay numbers too, that are bound to improve given a Travis Head or Abhishek Sharma slump can only last so long. Funnily enough, a batting rejig would hinge on releasing Klaasen, given his hefty price tag, but he had nearly 500 runs at 170-plus last year and strikes fear into opposition hearts like few other batters. All that despite having to bear with a higher entry point than he would prefer due to the top three's capitulation.

The bowling, though, had a different narrative. SRH had the second-worst economy last season in the powerplay (10.30), middle overs (9.56), and were one of only four teams to concede at over 11 in the death. Their marquee buy, Mohammed Shami's failure, was a big reason behind their failures, taking just five wickets in 22 powerplay overs at 10.27 and conceding 39 runs in his two overs at the death before being dropped. Pat Cummins also failed to hit the highs of 2024, meaning Harshal Patel was their only consistent bowler through the course of the season, even if he was also subpar by usual standards.

The release of Shami alone would net SRH 10 crores, but while that looks a no-brainer, the question around Cummins is more perplexing. The Aussie skipper would be arriving at the IPL fresh off an Ashes and T20 World Cup after sustaining a back stress injury, and it remains to be seen how he makes himself available for the IPL. Not like the Aussies are notorious for skipping the tournament whenever a question of workload arises, right? SRH thus have to decide whether they are ready to risk waiting for a replacement if Cummins withdraws late, when few options would be left, or be proactive and go into the auction with a loaded purse to have their pick amongst the players available. One thing is clear though -- if there is a department SRH need to rethink, it is their bowling.

What holes do SRH have to fill?

So no Shami and maybe no Cummins too makes a new-ball prospect the priority for SRH. In Eshan Malinga and Jaydev Unadkat they already have a backup pair, the duo immensely impressive in the back half of the latest season. However, neither the two nor their backups Brydon Carse and Simarjeet Singh are reliable performers or have a proven IPL track record, thereby requiring a dip in the market for fresh names.

The specialist spinner's role is another that has been a continued bother for the franchise. Their first-choice pick Adam Zampa struggled in the first two games before enduring an injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season, allowing Zeeshan Ansari and Harsh Dubey to fill in thereafter. The fact that they played Rahul Chahar in just one game, where he bowled a solitary over for nine runs, despite buying him for 3.2 crores more or less confirms he is on the way out. Zampa's price tag was slightly lower at 2.4 crores and the multiple World Cup-winner has inexplicably never had a consistent run in an IPL team. He has played a maximum of six games in a season, despite an impressive haul of 31 wickets in 22 IPL games at an economy of 8.37. With barely any options in the market for a wrist-spinner and a fourth foreigner slot potentially up for grabs, 2025 could just be the year for the former top-ranked T20I bowler in the world. Ansari and Dubey cost a combined 70 lakhs, perfect as backup options.

Last but not the least, SRH could do with a middle-order batter after the likes of Kamindu Mendis, Abhinav Manohar, and Atharva Taide failed to grasp their opportunities. The role might matter little if Nitish Kumar Reddy improves on his paltry tally of 182 last year while striking at under 120, which is barely any ask for a man of his talent. However, that is a risk not worth taking if SRH manages to accrue enough budget to fill in that hole.

Names SRH will be on the lookout for

Bhuvneshwar Kumar had played an integral role in SRH's success in 2024, and the franchise is lacking a swing bowler in his mould to shake teams up top. Sunrisers would be praying their rivals let go of some premier Indian quicks like Akash Deep, Deepak Chahar, and Yash Dayal to use the 10 crores freed from Shami's release. If not, they might look to welcome Auqib Nabi into the big league after a couple of impressive seasons for Jammu and Kashmir in the domestic circuit. Other new-ball bowlers that endured poor campaigns or were surplus to requirements and could be available are Tushar Deshpande, Rasikh Dar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, and Mohsin Khan. Amongst the foreigners, potential options include Anrich Nortje, Spencer Johnson, Reece Topley, Blessing Muzarabani, and Fazalhaq Farooqi.

If SRH somehow arrive at the decision that they can't field a foreign spinner and clear out Zampa, they'll be left to pick amongst the likes of Mayank Markande, Manav Suthar, Karn Sharma, and Tanush Kotian, if that -- unless Lucknow Super Giants make the big call of letting Ravi Bishnoi go after back-to-back poor campaigns. Alternatively, SRH may decide that mystery spinners are the way to go on flat Hyderabad decks, which could bring Allah Ghazanfar and Mujeeb ur Rahman into the picture, depending on the decisions Mumbai Indians make.

But nowhere is the market thinner than reliable middle-order Indian options. Venkatesh Iyer could be a dream fit for the team and is also likely to be in the auction pool. However, unless SRH release Klassen or Cummins, the best they can muster is 15-20 crores with the release of Shami (10), Chahar (3.2), Manohar (3.2), Simarjeet (1.5), and Carse amongst others (1). Considering Venky went for 23.75 crores last year and SRH's burning need for a new-ball quick over anything, they are unlikely to have the budget to contend for the KKR vice-captain.

SRH Probable XII: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, *middle order batter*, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga, Harshal Patel, *primary spinner*