IPL 2025: Michael Clarke criticizes Sunrisers Hyderabad's overreliance on openers
What's the story
Former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke has expressed his concerns over Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) middle-order batting in IPL 2025. His comments followed SRH's recent loss to the Mumbai Indians at Wankhede on April 17. Despite a strong 59-run opening stand from Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, the middle order once again failed to build on the momentum. Meanwhile, MI's batters chased down the 163-run target in 18.1 overs with four wickets remaining. Here's more.
Performance critique
Clarke highlights inconsistency in middle-order performance
Speaking on Star Sports after the match, Clarke emphasized that SRH's overdependence on their top two batsmen has been a constant problem all season. "You cannot expect your openers to deliver in every game. Last year, they almost did, but this season it's different," he stated. "I think what we are seeing, and it has been consistent this season, is that when the SRH opening pair misses out, the middle order just has not stepped up," he added.
Improvement needed
Clarke stresses need for middle order to improve
Clarke further stressed it was unrealistic to expect openers to fire in every single game. This has been a real opportunity for the middle order, and they have not taken it. That is definitely an area SRH need to improve," he added. He urged the middle order to grab their opportunity and admitted SRH needs to work on it. As mentioned, despite a decent total of 163, Mumbai Indians chased it down with 11 balls to spare.
Batting struggles
Middle order fails to deliver impactful innings
The middle order, including Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy, failed to deliver impactful innings. Of the lot, Klaasen was the top scorer with 37 runs off 28 deliveries but his innings lacked intent and didn't change the momentum of the game. Meanwhile, Reddy managed just 19 off 21 balls until he was dismissed by Trent Boult. After Abhishek's dismissal (eighth over), SRH couldn't recover and their innings stalled. Additionally, Clarke criticized this lack of initiative from the middle order.
Batting concerns
SRH's batting depth under scrutiny
Sunrisers Hyderabad, who boasted of a fiery batting last season, are now struggling to find their rhythm in IPL 2025. With just two wins from seven games, they have plummeted to the ninth spot on the points table. This dip in form has raised questions over their batting depth and has been a talking point among cricket analysts and fans alike.