"They can continue the template that had stunned everyone last year" - Aakash Chopra on SunRisers Hyderabad's strengths heading into IPL 2025
Former India player Aakash Chopra has picked the SunRisers Hyderabad's (SRH) destructive batting as one of their strengths heading into IPL 2025. He pointed out that Ishan Kishan's acquisition gives them an explosive top three.
SRH retained Heinrich Klaasen (₹23 crore), Abhishek Sharma (₹14 crore), Travis Head (₹14 crore), and Nitish Kumar Reddy (₹6 crore) as part of their batting contingent, along with their skipper Pat Cummins (₹18 crore) before the auction. They bought Kishan (₹11.25 crore) to bolster their batting.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener noted that similar to the last season, the SunRisers Hyderabad can continue to have an aggressive template with the bat in IPL 2025.
"Their first visible strength is that they will start hitting and keep hitting. They won't stop at all. Rahul Tripathi or Mayank Agarwal at times used to be a question in the middle earlier, but now they are saying there is no question at all. The first three are left-handers and all three do the right job," he said (1:40).
"All three are mighty stroke makers - Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Ishan Kishan. If they are your top three and then followed by Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Abhinav Manohar, a lot of depth is suddenly seen in the batting. They can continue the template that had stunned everyone last year," Chopra added.
SRH bought Abhinav Manohar for ₹3.20 crore at the auction. They also acquired Kamindu Mendis (₹75 lakh) as an overseas batting option.
"They overhauled their bowling" - Aakash Chopra on the SunRisers Hyderabad's other positive
![Harshal Patel was one of the bowlers acquired by SRH in the IPL 2025 auction. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/12/dde40-17332835138116-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same video, Aakash Chopra pointed out that the SunRisers Hyderabad have also addressed their bowling issues.
"There used to be a problem that they struggled in bowling. Last year, if they used to make 240, they conceded 240 as well. If they made 270, they won the match by 20 runs. So their bowlers got hit that much. They overhauled their bowling," he said (2:30).
The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the SRH bowling lineup will likely comprise five potent bowlers.
"In their long bowling lineup, they have Mohammed Shami, Harshal Patel, Pat Cummins, Rahul Chahar and Adam Zampa. The way the team is prepared, it seems you will have to include Adam Zampa in the XI. The bowling is a serious upgrade compared to earlier. They look very good to me. The bowling has become much better than earlier," Chopra observed.
Chopra noted that the SunRisers Hyderabad might have to choose between Adam Zampa and Kamindu Mendis as the fourth overseas player in the XI, with Pat Cummins, Travis Head, and Heinrich Klaasen being virtual certainties.
He opined that Zampa would have to be played, especially in the second half of the season, as Rahul Chahar might be the only specialist spinner in the XI otherwise.