SRH have issues with spin in IPL 2026.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have off-spin issues in IPL 2026. Their top five have had enough dismissals and low strike rate to concede there’s an obvious pattern. Last year, SRH collectively scored at 152.45 and hit a boundary every 4.88 deliveries.
However, almost every batter has struggled lately, including their best spin-hitters, Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen. Abhishek’s issues came to the fore at the T20 World Cup 2026, where every team targeted him with off-spinners right from the start. Since last year, he has an average of 17.83 and a strike rate of 155.07, with six dismissals in 69 deliveries, against them.
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Meanwhile, Travis Head has been even worse, with four dismissals, an 18.75 average, and a 122.95 strike rate across 61 balls. He plays around 44.26% dot balls. No other bowling type has troubled him as much as off-spin.
Ishan Kishan has done comparatively well. While he has been dismissed four times, the SRH captain strikes at 178.08 and hits a boundary every 3.31 deliveries. Kishan will be their best bet to counter off-spin throughout the season.
Notably, Sunrisers Hyderabad have an all-LHB top three, with two real susceptibles to off-spin. That’s precisely the problem India faced in the initial part of the T20 World Cup, where the trend became too obvious. SRH might need to rethink the combination if early patterns develop on similar lines.
On the other hand, Heinrich Klaasen’s issues are shocking but real. He has regressed massively against quality spin, and off-spinners, who are supposed to be his positive matchup, have troubled him way more than anticipated. Since 2025, Klaasen has struck at just 118.42 and been dismissed five times, averaging just 27.
Liam Livingstone also loses his wicket twice in 41 balls and strikes at a mere 78.04. He has hit just one boundary and played around 31.70% dot balls. He has struggled to score against them massively, even if the batter has preserved his wicket at times.
The solace for SRH is that Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) don’t have a quality off-spinner who is a sure starter in their playing XI. Among those expected to play, Tim David is the only part-timer who can bowl off-spin, but he has hardly bowled. Since last year, he has delivered only five overs, conceding 8.60 runs per over without any wickets.
So, RCB either need to bank on him for a couple of early overs or play one of the two uncapped all-rounders, Vihaan Malhotra and Kanishk Chouhan. Both can bowl useful off-spin and will add decent batting value, even though their exposure at this level remains limited. Whoever plays can come in for Mangesh Yadav, who is equally inexperienced and has hardly played even domestic cricket.
The deck will unlikely suit any bowling type, and Mangesh can concede plenty. If one of those two off-spinners plays, RCB will at least get them to bowl against positive matchups. They will bring a certain mystery, given that the opponent has yet to face them.
Krunal Pandya will unlikely bowl in the powerplay, since the opponent has three LHBs in the top order. However, he will be massively crucial for RCB in the middle overs. Last season, he took 12 wickets at 25 runs apiece and conceded only 7.89 runs per over in this phase.
Now Klaasen’s issues are not limited to off-spin lately; his numbers against left-arm spin are even poorer. Since 2025, he has averaged 24.40 and struck at 111.92. Klaasen has lost his wicket five times in this phase.
Meanwhile, Liam Livingstone has an average of 27 and a strike rate of 109.09 against left-arm spin. He has been dismissed four times. Even Nitish Kumar Reddy has lost his wicket twice in 22 deliveries.
Krunal Pandya has dismissed 12 RHBs at 21.83 runs apiece and an economy rate of 8.14 since 2025. With Suyash Sharma being vulnerable and having several negative matchups to bowl against, RCB will need Krunal to bowl with the old ball. They can afford to keep Suyash out as SRH had the highest strike rate (191.20) and balls-per-boundary ratio (3.78) leg spinners last season.
Their only new addition, Livingstone, has also been good against this bowling type, averaging a whopping 53 and striking at 174.34 since last year. Hence, it won’t be a bad idea to drop Suyash for this game and bring one of Vihaan or Kanishk in the XI, which also gives them batting depth. An off-spin at the start, followed by Krunal, should be the way for the defending champions.
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