Follow UsSunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will be among the favorites to lift the IPL 2025 title, and a major reason for this is the big investment they have made on their overseas talent. After the success of IPL 2024 where they finished runners-up, they retained Heinrich Klaasen, Pat Cummins and Travis Head, being the team with most overseas retentions heading into IPL 2025 auction.
Then, at the IPL 2025 auction, they managed to sign Australia’s ace spinner Adam Zampa, England’s new gen pacer Braydon Carse, Sri Lanka’s rising star Kamindu Mendis and the relatively unknown Lankan pacer Eshan Malinga.
Among these seven quality talents, here are four possible starters in the overseas slot in the first game of IPL 2025 for SRH.
Pat Cummins is currently the most followed non-Indian cricketer in the world as the success he's achieved over the last two years has been unmatched.
He was the captain that led Australia to the World Test Championship (WTC) and ICC 50-over World Cup title in 2023. He recently managed to help Australia win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years. He had a terrific first IPL season as captain as he led SRH to the final in IPL 2024.
He was also one of the key reasons behind the ultra-aggressive approach that SRH took during the previous edition of the IPL which resulted in them hammering opponents in multiple matches.
Heinrich Klaasen has been the best overseas batter in IPL over the last two years. The ability of his to attack spinners and accelerate in the middle overs resulted in him playing many match-winning knocks for the Hyderabad franchise.
This match winning ability is what resulted in SRH retaining him as their top pick for a whopping 23 crore, which is the most expensive retention in the history of IPL.
In his time at SRH since 2023, Klaasen has been the highest run scorer for the franchise, smashing 927 runs at 174 SR with six fifties and one hundred. He also provides wicket-keeping services for the side and is a key figure in the middle-order, making him a sure shot feature in the playing 11 throughout the tournament.
Travis Head is easily the most feared batter in world cricket currently. His performances in the international events, especially against India, has given him the ‘Headache’ moniker among Indian cricket fans.
The swashbuckling left-handed opener took bowlers to the cleaners in IPL 2024, scoring 567 runs in 15 games at a terrific strike rate of 192. He struck at 208 in the first six overs, making him the most destructive batter that took on the opposition bowlers head-on.
Rest assured Head will be the first name on SRH's teamsheet come IPL 2025.
The fourth overseas for SRH is the position that will be a bit more dynamic; there will likely be plenty of rotations. For the first game, the team management might go with a safe bet in the form of Adam Zampa as he can individually handle the spin department that was lacking for SRH in IPL 2024.
There are other Indian spin bowling options in Rahul Chahar and Zeeshan Ansari who can possibly come in if Zampa fails to make an impact or if the team wants to lengthen the batting line up.
In his limited experience in IPL, Zampa has done a decent job, picking 29 wickets in 20 games representing RCB, RR and RPS. His figures of 6/19 against SRH in IPL 2016 is still the best figures for a spinner in IPL to date.