SRH will count on their openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma to guide the team to a 200+-run total in the game against KKR
Sunrisers Hyderabad will be bracing for a run-fest and a battle of spin in the contest against KKR on Thursday. The match, which will take place at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, will be a rerun of the IPL 2024 final where Pat Cummins & co. lost to the same opposition. A high-scoring game is on the cards, which means SRH’s top-order will have to pull their socks up and go all guns blazing.
Predicted SRH playing XI vs KKR
| Position | Player | Role |
| 1. | Abhishek Sharma | All-rounder |
| 2. | Travis Head ✈️ | All-rounder |
| 3. | Ishan Kishan (WK) | Batter |
| 4. | Nitish Kumar Reddy | All-rounder |
| 5. | Heinrich Klaasen (WK) ✈️ | Batter |
| 6. | Aniket Verma | Batter |
| 7. | Abhinav Manohar | Batter |
| 8. | Pat Cummins (C) ✈️ | All-rounder |
| 9. | Rahul Chahar | Bowler |
| 10. | Zeeshan Ansari | Bowler |
| 11. | Mohammed Shami | Bowler |
Head, Sharma need to go berserk
The duo of Head and Sharma, who were a nightmare for bowlers last season, have failed to fire collectively so far in IPL 2025. Abhishek has only managed to register scores of 24, 6 and 1 so far. His partner Head has been a little more consistent. The opening pair will have to bring their A-game against KKR as a run-fest is on the cards.
Ishan Kishan started off his stint at SRH with a bang, smashing a century in the very first game. However, that was followed by a couple of poor innings. Should either of the openers fail, the responsibility of guiding SRH to a formidable total falls on Kishan’s shoulders.
Aniket Verma, a hidden gem unearthed by SRH, will play a crucial role in the middle-order.
Zampa, Ansari to lead bowling attack
A spin-friednly pitch is expected at the Eden Gardens which means Rahul Chahar, Adam Zampa and Zeeshan Ansari will have a lot of work to do. Ansari impressed in his debut game for SRH, finishing with figures of 3/42. He will be hoping to replicate it in the game against KKR.
Head will also be expected to bowl in the contest in order to tackle KKR’s left-handed batters. Skipper Pat Cumminms will spearhead the pace department comprising of Mohammed Shami. Wiaan Mulder could come in as an impact substitute.
SRH squad for IPL 2025
Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Aniket Verma, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Abhinav Manohar, Pat Cummins(c), Wiaan Mulder, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami, Zeeshan Ansari, Adam Zampa, Sachin Baby, Eshan Malinga, Simarjeet Singh, Jaydev Unadkat, Kamindu Mendis, Rahul Chahar, Atharva Taide
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