"Orange Army, you are not looking like an army" - Aakash Chopra on SRH ahead of IPL 2025 clash vs MI

Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) are not looking as formidable in IPL 2025 as they did last year. He pointed out that last season's runners-up's famed batting lineup has been found wanting this year.

SRH will host the Mumbai Indians (MI) in Match 41 of IPL 2025 in Hyderabad on Wednesday, April 23. With four points from seven games, the hosts are placed ninth on the points table and need a virtual miracle to qualify for the playoffs.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener noted that SRH's batting lineup has let them down in IPL 2025.

"Orange Army, you are not looking like an army. The situation is very bad, and it's getting worse. A lot of things have not gone in their favor. Nitish Kumar Reddy has an average of 21 this year. Heinrich Klaasen's highest score this year has been 35. Barring one or two matches, the Travishek pair (Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma) hasn't done anything," he said.

Chopra added that SRH's batting, which was considered to be their strength, has failed more often than not.

"They played very well against Punjab, and in an odd match at the start. There too Abhishek hadn't scored runs. Overall, batting, which used to be this team's huge strength, we have seen just one or two trailers of that, once in the first match where Ishan Kishan scored a century, and then the Punjab match where Abhishek scored a hundred. Aniket Verma played very well in one match, but what else?" he elaborated.

Although Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan have struck a century apiece in IPL 2025, they haven't contributed much in their other six innings. Heinrich Klaasen, who was retained for a whopping ₹23 crore, has a top score of 37 in his seven innings.

---

"Mohammad Shami's performance has been extremely ordinary" - Aakash Chopra on SRH's bowling issues in IPL 2025

Mohammad Shami (right) hasn't been at his best in IPL 2025. [P/C: Getty]

Reflecting on SRH's bowling, Aakash Chopra noted that Mohammad Shami has lacked potency in IPL 2025.

"If I talk about the bowling problems, you would be surprised. If you see Shami's performance, you would ask what has happened. Mohammad Shami's performance has been extremely ordinary. I think he has an average of 52," he said in the same video.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Pat Cummins and company have lost Adam Zampa's services due to an injury and are reluctant to use Rahul Chahar alongside Zeeshan Ansari.

"Pat Cummins has recovered a little, but the situation is very bad overall. In fact, when Adam Zampa got injured, they picked R Smaran, who is a batter. You play Zeeshan Ansari, but played Rahul Chahar only in the last game, or else you are not playing him," Chopra observed.

Harshal Patel (9) and Pat Cummins (7) are the only SRH bowlers to take more than five wickets in IPL 2025. Mohammad Shami's five wickets in seven innings have come at an average of 52.20 and an economy rate of 10.87.