Travis Head is not among the top three highest run-scorers for SRH in the IPL 2026.
A clinical bowling effort saw the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) claim their third victory of the IPL 2026 last night. But a blazing knock from their explosive opener Travis Head is still awaited by the Orange Army. Notably, Head is yet to register a half-century in six matches of the edition so far. Following the poor run, Ambati Rayudu and Aaron Finch have shared their views behind the lean phase of the star Australian batter.
Previously, the southpaw had enjoyed a stellar comeback season in the IPL 2024 and was one of the key architects behind powering the franchise to the summit clash after a six-year gap. He had notched up a huge 567 runs in 15 matches while debuting for SRH, striking at a blistering rate of 191.55.
However, last year, the strike rate declined to 162.60, while Head still put up a decent 374 runs in 12 appearances. But coming into the 19th season of the Indian Premier League, the swashbuckling opener has managed to score only 143 runs so far, averaging a sub-par 23.83.
“He’s waiting for the short-length ball to hit on the onside. I think that’s where he thought his weakness was, and he maybe thought he should improve hitting more on the onside. That’s where I feel he has just stopped focusing on what his actual strength is, that is to hit through the offside,” opined Rayudu on a ESPN Cricinfo show.
“Teams are now bowling slower balls really early, so they’re not allowing him to line up one particular pace. So, just the constant mixing up of deliveries to not allow him to just line you up is so crucial. Cause you know once he starts lining you up, he keeps coming so hard, but it just hasn’t quite clicked so far,” added the former SRH player, Finch.
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Last night, the home crowd at Uppal witnessed a fierce Abhishek Sharma show, followed by an anchoring innings from Heinrich Klaasen. Though stand-in captain Ishan Kishan and Nitish Kumar Reddy failed to contribute much in their encounter against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), they had previously displayed some noteworthy knocks and looked set to replicate them in the upcoming fixtures.
On the other hand, Head has crossed the 30-run mark only twice this season, and with the progression of the IPL 2026, his rough form would be a major concern for the 2016 champions. Earlier, the 32-year-old also had an average outing in the T20 World Cup 2026, putting up only 111 runs in four fixtures, including a solitary fifty-plus score against Sri Lanka.
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