‘Who are the wicket-takers?': Former IPL captain questions SRH bowling attack

Hyderabad, March 2026 – As Sunrisers Hyderabad prepare to launch their Indian Premier League 2026 campaign, two former international captains have delivered the same blunt verdict: the franchise’s title hopes rest almost entirely on its ability to out-bat opponents, because the bowling cupboard looks worryingly bare.

Speaking exclusively to JioStar, former South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis praised SRH for assembling what he called “the most destructive six-hitting line-up in the IPL,” but warned that the absence of proven wicket-takers with the ball could derail their season. “When I look at the squad, I ask myself, who are my wicket-takers?” du Plessis said. “From a captaincy point of view, who am I throwing the ball to? Obviously Cummins is the captain, so he is the go-to option. But apart from him, who are the other guys?”

Du Plessis drew a direct parallel with the once-feared West Indies T20 outfit: explosive batting, patchy bowling. “It almost reminds me of the West Indies at the T20 World Cup—an extremely powerful batting lineup,” he noted. “If they are going to have a successful campaign, they will have to bully opposition bowlers and build scoreboard pressure by out-batting teams. Then, when the opposition comes out to bat, they look at the scoreboard—chasing 260—they get out.”

The numbers back the critique. Since their 2016 triumph, SRH have repeatedly posted 220-plus totals only to watch them unravel, a trend that cost them knockout berths in 2024 and 2025. The off-season trade that sent Mohammed Shami to Lucknow Super Giants has only amplified concerns. Former India fast bowler Laxmipathy Balaji admitted he was “a bit surprised” by the move. “Of course, Harshal Patel is another option and he has experience when it comes to death bowling,” Balaji told JioStar. “But apart from that, the bowling lineup looks very thin.”

Balaji ticked through the remaining options: Jaydev Unadkat to open the spell, Shivam Mavi—whose career has been punctuated by injuries—and a spin department headlined by domestic leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari. “That is probably why they may have to go pace-heavy, with Ansari as their primary spin option,” he said.

Pat Cummins, acquired for top-dollar at the December mega-auction, now shoulders dual responsibility as leader and strike bowler. Du Plessis believes the pressure is lopsided. “When you spend so much money on someone in the auction, you are essentially saying, ‘He is part of our playing XI.’ They’ve gone, ‘We want to pick the most destructive batting lineup in the IPL when it comes to six-hitting.’”

The spending spree also brought England all-rounder Liam Livingstone to the squad, though du Plessis urged caution. “If you look at his IPL career, he has not performed to his full potential in almost any of the teams he has played for,” he observed. “You would expect that he has a season in him where people in India can truly see what he can do, but he has not quite done it yet.”

At the top of the order, India opener Abhishek Sharma arrives on the back of a match-winning fifty in last week’s T20 World Cup final against New Zealand. Despite a modest lead-up to that innings, du Plessis is confident the left-hander will rebound quickly. “Every top-performing batter goes through a season like the one he is in now,” he said. “He is a good player, so I am sure he will find his feet again quickly in the IPL and dominate.”

For now, SRH’s blueprint is clear: post gargantuan totals and hope scoreboard tension does the rest. Whether that gambit can survive a long season on high-scoring Indian tracks will determine if the 2016 champions can add a second trophy—or spend another year explaining why their attack could not defend the runs their batsmen so lavishly provide.