Sunrisers Hyderabad Bolsters Squad at IPL 2026 Auction

Sunrisers Hyderabad bolstered their squad for the 2026 Indian Premier League season by acquiring a mix of experienced international allrounders and promising uncapped Indian talents at the player auction in Abu Dhabi on December 16, 2025. The franchise, which missed the playoffs in a disappointing 2025 campaign despite a potent lineup, entered the event with a purse of 25.50 crore rupees and spent 20.05 crore on 10 new players, including England's Liam Livingstone for a record 13 crore and Australia's Jack Edwards for 3 crore.

Pat Cummins will continue as captain, leading a retained core that includes explosive openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen, and allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. Other retentions feature Ishan Kishan, Harshal Patel, Kamindu Mendis, Brydon Carse, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga, Zeeshan Ansari, Aniket Verma, Harsh Dubey, and R. Smaran. These players form the foundation of a batting-heavy side that struggled with consistency last season, finishing outside the top four despite Head's 300-plus runs and Sharma's standout performances exceeding 400 runs in each of the previous two IPL editions.