IPL 2026 auction: How Sunrisers Hyderabad stack up
What's the story
More than 300 players will go under the hammer in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) mini-auction set to take place on December 16. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the IPL 2024 runners-up, have a significant purse going into the bidding event. The Orange Army, who have one of the most prolific T20 openers, can fill in a maximum of 10 slots. Here are further details.
Players released
Players released and purse remaining
While SRH traded Mohammed Shami to Lucknow Super Giants, Adam Zampa and Wiaan Mulder were released. The 2016 IPL champions have a solid captain in Pat Cummins, as well as a lethal opening pair in Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. Players released/traded out: Mohammed Shami, Atharva Taide, Sachin Baby, Abhinav Manohar, Wiaan Mulder, Adam Zampa, Simarjeet Singh, Rahul Chahar. Purse remaining: ₹25.50 crore.
Information
Players retained by SRH
Players retained/traded in: Abhishek Sharma, Aniket Verma, Brydon Carse, Eshan Malinga, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan, Jaydev Unadkat, Kamindu Mendis, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins, R Smaran, Travis Head, and Zeeshan Ansari.
Strategy
Road ahead for the Orange Army
While Cummins will lead SRH, his workload will draw attention, with back-to-back Ashes and the ICC T20 World Cup. The Orange Army have plenty of seam-bowling options, but they need a strong spin attack, especially with Chahar and Zampa's departure. SRH could also target some all-rounders to support Nitish Kumar Reddy. They have two slots remaining for overseas players.
IPL 2025
How SRH fared in IPL 2025
SRH had a stellar IPL 2025 campaign with the bat as they recorded two of the three highest totals ever. Ishan Kishan's maiden IPL ton helped them post 286/6 against Rajasthan Royals at home, while they smashed 278/3 against Kolkata Knight Riders in Delhi. Despite their batting firepower, SRH finished sixth with six wins in 15 games. They were the runners-up in 2024.