Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has named the SunRisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) bowling as their biggest challenge heading into IPL 2026. He added that the franchise might not be able to defend 250-plus totals as well.
However, the SRH bowling attack has been considerably weakened ahead of the IPL 2026. While Pat Cummins and Eshan Malinga will not be available at the start of the tournament, Jack Edwards has also been ruled out of the IPL.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “There will be challenges because the bowling has been dealt a serious blow. Pat Cummins was already not there. So the bowling was already slightly weak, and if Eshan Malinga is also not there, it means you will have to play Brydon Carse, or else you won’t be able to play with Indian bowling.”
READ HERE: Shubman Gill Breaks Silence On ODI Futures Of Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli
“When I see their bowling, it has Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Sakib Hussain, Omkar Tarmale, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, Harshal Patel, Shivam Mavi, Shivang Kumar and Harsh Dubey, but the bowling is weak. How they manage the bowling will be a challenge because if they score 250, they might concede 250. Their bowling looks like that. Unfortunately, that much might is not being seen in their bowling,” he further added.
However, Aakash Chopra also expressed hope that the SunRisers Hyderabad bowling coach Varun Aaron’s confidence in his bowlers has been justified.
“When I was speaking to Varun Aaron, he said I haven’t seen the boys, but he has seen them. He said he has seen Shivang, Harsh, and all other bowlers, that Shivam Mavi is bowling very well, and that they would be fine, and I will find out when I see them. I am hoping I find out,” he said.
“However, at this point in time, when you see the team on paper, you see their entire bowling unit as a challenge, in which spin, especially, gets highlighted because with Zeeshan Ansari and Shivang Kumar, I really don’t think they are going with a very strong bowling attack. Spin is a definite, definite weakness. You cannot ignore that at all,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
