"You suddenly feel 90% of your purse is playing on the ground" - Aakash Chopra on SunRisers Hyderabad's backup issue heading into IPL 2025
Former India player Aakash Chopra reckons the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) might be haunted in IPL 2025 because of the lack of proper backups in their squad. He pointed out that the IPL 2024 finalists spent most of their budget on their best playing combination.
Ahead of the auction, SRH retained Heinrich Klaasen (₹23 crore), Pat Cummins (₹18 crore), Abhishek Sharma (₹14 crore), Travis Head (₹14 crore), and Nitish Kumar Reddy (₹6 crore). They spent ₹44.80 crore to acquire 15 more players to assemble a 20-member squad.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener opined that the lack of backups could be a 'serious' concern for the SunRisers Hyderabad in IPL 2025.
"The XII is good, but they don't have backups. Backup is a serious, serious concern because you spent so much money on making your final XII. You suddenly feel 90% of your purse is playing on the ground, which is not a bad thing, but it becomes a bad thing if someone gets injured or loses form," he said (8:30).
Chopra added that explosive players like Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, and Heinrich Klaasen might not be consistent.
"We are assuming that Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head will exactly play as they did last year, and Heinrich Klaasen will also not stop. They play such high-risk cricket that you don't get consistency at times, and they are expecting consistency from them only," Chopra observed.
Chopra pointed out that SRH might need backups midway through the season if their batters aren't consistent. However, he added that the IPL 2016 champions don't have the requisite bench strength as they focused too much on assembling their first XI or XII.
"Shami is injury-prone" - Aakash Chopra on SunRisers Hyderabad's backup issues in bowling
![SRH acquired Mohammed Shami for ₹10 crore. [P/C: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/12/e4e6c-17332882482677-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same video, Aakash Chopra pointed out that the SunRisers Hyderabad have backup issues even in the bowling department.
"They made huge bids for Mohammed Shami and Harshal Patel. Punjab didn't use the Right To Match card for whatever reason. There is a definite upgrade in bowling, but there is no backup in bowling as well. Shami is injury-prone," he said (9:15).
The renowned commentator highlighted that SRH don't have a suitable backup for the 'injury-prone' Mohammed Shami.
"If something goes wrong, their bowling might actually struggle a little because Simarjeet Singh and Jaydev Unadkat - you won't get a replacement for Mohammed Shami. I feel they lack backups slightly," Chopra observed.
Chopra concluded by giving the SunRisers Hyderabad squad a rating of 8.5 on a scale of 10. He pointed out that although they did a fairly decent job in assembling the first XII, one is slightly worried for a team that doesn't have backups.