Leg and Off: Should SRH reconsider their batting approach in IPL 2025?

The SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) have reached a critical juncture after four matches of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL). A franchise record 80-run defeat to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on April 3 has sent them to the bottom of the points table, and they are not heading in the direction as envisioned after their final appearance in the 2024 season.

SRH believe they have enough evidence to continue with their ultra-aggressive approach, and see no reason to back down in the 2025 edition. It all went to plan in their season opener after they smashed 286 runs against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), but it has gone downhill since then.

On that note, let us look at both sides of the coin regarding SRH and their batting approach after their third successive loss in IPL 2025.

Should SRH reconsider their batting approach in IPL 2025?

#1 They have built a team tailored for an ultra-aggressive approach

SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) did not win the title last year, but they dominated the headlines with the approach they envisioned and brought to life throughout the tournament. Their new method rewarded them with their best-ever campaign since their title triumph in 2016 and was exactly the breath of fresh air they needed after a rather demoralising cycle.

The flaw with their approach was evident in the 2024 season itself. Everything needed to be right from the top to make it a success. The ability on paper was unquestionably there, but they needed more consistency. Since there are a lot of factors that go against their approach, ranging from conditions to the opposition's bowling strength, SRH need a few more elements to nail down the philosophy.

A large part of their planning and implementation during the off-season and the mega auction was along those lines. SRH retained the majority of their batting unit and roped in the missing elements at the auction. The addition of players like Ishan Kishan, Aniket Verma, and Abhinav Manohar to the existing batters made up a destructive unit.

More importantly, all of them were on the same page regarding the ultra-aggressive approach since that is their strength. SRH were well aware of the perils of such an approach on a long-term basis, yet they constructed such a team for a three-year cycle.

The constant chatter among fans and pundits when the approach was working last season was that a time would come when it would fail. But, the opposite scenario is also easily plausible. Now that the style of play is not working out, it is bound to succeed because they have the ability and they have done it consistently in the past to earn some credibility.

#2 High-reward comes with high-risk

There is a reason why SRH are not concerned about their top three batters being left-handed or the fact that their batting unit can be tied down on sluggish wickets. SRH bank on their potential to negate all the factors that go against them on paper or otherwise.

All of the innings where SRH breached the 250-run mark could have easily been ordinary totals in case of a couple of false strokes or flawed execution of their intent. The gap that separates a mammoth total and a regular one is not as wide as it seems. It is all about how often you can get things to go your way.

The gap is simply the risk teams are willing to take. Most teams find a way to balance, end with competitive totals, and rely on bowlers equally, but not SRH. They want their batters to win matches on their own, and have been given all the tools to do so. The management has given them the license to go hard, with their place in the squad not being a threat. The batting depth, further bolstered by the impact sub, is another incentive for them to play aggressively until they find the rhythm.

If SRH wish to go where they desire, which is the highest of rewards, they will have to continue to take risks of the highest degree and navigate through the inevitable rough patches.

#3 SRH have unnecessarily extrapolated the ultra-aggression without taking conditions and situations into consideration

KKR all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer summed the scenario quite well when he said, "Aggression is not about hitting all balls for a six," after their win over SRH on April 3, 2025. Ultra-aggressive batting style has been blindly adopted, encouraged by short-term results, but all this time, it has been employed without a proper definition.

How much aggression is too much aggression? What is the difference between being aggressive and ultra-aggressive? What is the threshold where it should be curbed for the sake of damage control? There are so many questions like this, but there are no definitive answers for any of them.

SRH are not the only team trying to be over-aggressive, it's just that they are attempting it on a higher level that has never been on show before. At the end of the day, it all boils down to conditions. Approach will always be dictated by the surface on offer, no matter how much the sport and mindset evolve.

Even in the early stages of the IPL 2025, there has not been an overwhelming barrage of 200-plus scores as anticipated during the build-up. Bowlers have been able to come into play more with the reversal of the saliva ban and much more sporting decks as compared to the flatter surfaces in the 2024 season. But SRH are still slogging away without taking those factors into account.

Flawed execution by SRH batters is an obvious reason behind their string of below-par totals, but a big reason behind it is better planning by the bowlers. The opposition have made it a point to either use the new ball advantage or exploit the batters' weakness in a better fashion, and the results are there to be seen.

A recurring theme behind SRH's poor scores has been collapses in the powerplay. Despite not getting the starts of their desire, they have proceeded in the same fashion instead of being more adaptable to the situation.

A time will come when SRH need to take stock of the damage and begin to cut losses.

#4 SRH can realistically construct a Plan B without abandoning their beliefs

SRH's collapse against KKR was arguably their worst of the three defeats this season, not just because it was their lowest score, but the fact that it was absolutely unnecessary. Almost everyone involved in the game, be it from the SRH or the KKR camp, opined that 200 was a chaseable score.

In the earlier matches, SRH batted first, aimed for 250 and beyond from the word go, and did not attempt to stop despite collapsing midway through. But there was no reason for them to adopt the same method when a realistic target in reasonable conditions was on offer against KKR.

In such situations, sensible cricket takes precedence over 'identity' or 'DNA,' primarily because it is the points that matter more than anything else. Knowing that Vaibhav Arora gets the new ball to move around and Eden Gardens offers help to the seamers upfront (SRH themselves had reduced KKR to 16-2 in the third over), Head and Abhishek could have easily given themselves some time before cranking up the gears.

Given that they have the depth to compensate for a mediocre start in terms of run-rate, the top-order has the luxury to play in a composed manner rather than rushed. Composed does not necessarily mean playing run-a-ball, but just taking time at the crease, and being comfortable enough to implement Plan A. The value of staying at the crease and having a set batter at one end is always valued, something that SRH have been devoid of in recent games.

This takes a lot of pressure off the middle order batters' shoulders, and is much more feasible in the long run. So, SRH batters do not have to abandon their ideology altogether after a few mishaps, but they need to refine or scale down just a touch for it to be more practical and less exploitable.