At the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 super auction, SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) acquired 20 cricket players and kept five, creating a formidable 25-man team. With the joint-lowest prize of ₹45 crore, they were somewhat at a disadvantage at the auction, but the think tank nonetheless took full advantage of it.
On March 23, SRH will play the first match of their doubleheader against the Rajasthan Royals to begin their IPL 2025 season. Pat Cummins of Australia will lead the IPL 2024 runners-up this year as well.
Cummins would like to win the trophy this year after leading the team so close to it the previous year. Additionally, we consider the team’s players and their performance before the competition when discussing reaching the final.
With a solid lineup that includes most of their best players, SRH has a good chance of making it to the knockout stages this year as well. However, we were able to select three players that are currently out of form, and their names are as follows:
1. Kamindu Mendis
At the mega auction, SRH paid ₹75 lakh to sign Sri Lankan cricketer Kamindu Mendis, who will play in the event for the first time if he is selected in the starting lineup. Because he can bowl with both arms, off-break, and slow left-arm spin, Mendis has a special talent.
Well Played, Kamindu Mendis!
60 off just 29 balls! 👏🏻🧡 pic.twitter.com/TusFhwOwCS
— ORANGE ARMY (@SUNRISERSU) March 18, 2025He hasn’t played a game yet, thus his IPL statistics aren’t very telling. However, his current form is evident from his last 10 appearances, which comprise one first-class encounter and nine international games. He has only managed one ODI half-century in these games, but he hasn’t taken a single wicket.
The high-stress IPL matches may present significant challenges for his performance because SRH hitters achieved numerous records and since his T20I campaign against New Zealand in December 2024 did not succeed.
Mendis received recognition as the winner of the 2024 ICC Emerging Cricketer of Year Trophy.
2. Jaydev Unadkat
Representing eight different teams since 2010 Indian Premier League debut Jaydev Unadkat has participated in 105 matches and secured 99 wickets. Jaydev Unadkat has a history of playing 105 matches in which he made 99 wickets during his time in the competition.
The Rajasthan side purchased Unadkat from Sunrisers Hyderabad at a cost of ₹1 crore during the previous season and made another bid to acquire his services for this edition. In spite of being 34 years old his recent playing performance has remained weak. The domestic performances of this cricketer have been unsatisfactory but Indian selectors chose to retire him from international games.
Only the ones who watched the match will understand how valuable Jaydev Unadkat has been for us in the high scoring games last season!!👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/bCjvD7NnuG
— ORANGE ARMY (@SUNRISERSU) January 18, 2025In Saurashtra’s match against Punjab for the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024–25, Unadkat ended up giving up 90 runs without taking a wicket. His last FC game was against Gujarat, where he scored a dismal 1/107.
Whether SRH selects Jaydev Unadkat for their playing XI is still up in the air.
3. Ishan Kishan
After being released by the Mumbai Indians (MI), Ishan Kishan, one of SRH’s top picks at the IPL 2025 auction, secured a ₹11.25 crore agreement. The 2020 winning season was the wicketkeeper-batter’s greatest to date, with 2644 runs from 105 games between 2016 and 2024.
Kishan has also been making every effort to return to the senior national squad, but he hasn’t been able to attract the interest of the Indian think tank. Since November 28, 2023, the southpaw has not participated in an international cricket match.
He has since taken an active part in Jharkhand’s domestic competitions. However, his recent batting performances have been lackluster; in his last ten appearances, the 27-year-old has only managed one solid hit (134).
Ishan Kishan, an aggressive batter in the game’s shortest format, will look to make an impression for SRH, just as he did for MI during their championship runs.
