All the teams are gearing up for the much-anticipated IPL 2026 auction, set to be held on December 16. Following the retentions and trades, the Indian Premier League 2016 champions, Sunrisers Hyderabad
(SRH), have most of their bases covered for the upcoming edition. However, with a third-highest purse of INR 25.5 crore, the Orange Army are expected to strengthen their middle order with some domestic backups in the mini auction. Let’s take a look at the players who might be included on the SRH target list for the IPL 2026 auction.
After having a poor last season, Sunrisers Hyderabad have released multiple domestic stars, including veteran pacer Mohammed Shami, Abhinav Manohar, Atharva Taide, Sachin Baby, Simarjeet Singh, and Rahul Chahar. They would like to fill in a few of these domestic slots with some more power-hitters, who could complement their fearless and attacking gameplay. Let us look at 3 players who will be under the radar for SRH.
1.Matheesha Pathirana
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are looking for a strike pacer for the middle and death overs, especially after trading out a few pacers. Pathirana, with his unique sling-shot action and deadly yorkers, fills a crucial gap for a frontline overseas death-overs specialist that SRH is currently missing. Matheesha Pathirana’s IPL career, primarily for Chennai Super Kings, spans 32 matches where he has taken 47 wickets at an average of 21.62 and an overall economy rate of 8.68. He was a key contributor in CSK’s title win in 2023, where he took 19 wickets in 12 matches. He is one option SRH will look to get.
2.Matt Henry
Matt Henry is a quality new ball bowler and is a like for like replacement for Mohammad Shami. Henry has played 6 matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) and Lucknow Super Giants, taking a total of 2 wickets with a best bowling figure of 1/28 and an economy rate of 10.6. He can be a good option considering he has improved his skills in this format.
3. Ravi Bishnoi
Sunrisers Hyderabad lacked a good Indian spin bowler in the last season and the overseas batters meant Zampa could not play much of part and was released. So going into this auction they will be eyeing an Indian spinner and there is no bigger name in auction list than Ravi Bishnoi. He has played 77 IPL matches since his debut in 2020, taking 72 wickets with a best bowling figure of 3/24 and maintaining an overall economy rate of 8.22.
