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Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) faced a huge dent to their chances of reaching Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 Qualifier 2 when Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored a 29-ball 97. However, SRH bowlers were able to make a comeback and restrict RR’s score to 243/8. Considering how SRH chased down 244-run target against Mumbai Indians (MI) last month and scored 255/4 in the previous game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), they weren't out of the contest. SRH got off to a flying start as well, reaching 50 runs in just 2.4 overs but their top-order returned to the dugout early, leading to a 47-run loss. Following SRH getting knocked out of IPL 2026, legendary Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has advised SRH to rethink about retaining Travis Head for the next season.
Ashwin also criticised Ishan Kishan for throwing away his wicket against Jofra Archer despite getting plenty of runs in the third over of the innings.
“I think SRH could have won this match quite easily. When they had already scored around 32-34 runs in the first two overs and nearly 50 in the first three overs, Ishan Kishan’s shot was completely unnecessary. He threw his wicket away,” Ashwin said on his YouTube show ‘Ash Ki Baat’.
“There was absolutely no meaning to playing such a shot in such a big match. It was a very poor shot.
“Travis Head has not performed at all this season. The management definitely needs to think about Travis Head. He should have played more responsibly. There was no point in getting out by playing such a poor shot,” Ashwin added.
Head was dismissed by Jofra Archer for an eight-ball 17 in the fifth over as he tried to go for a big shot and got bowled.
Head’s numbers fall
While SRH's Heinrich Klaasen, Kishan and Abhishek Sharma finish among top 10 run-scorers of the season, Head's numbers have taken a hit. Head's strike rate of 170.12 is not an issue. But, he has managed to score 410 runs at an average of 42.20. He has managed to score just two half-centuries in the season. In the previous season as well, Head was not at his best, scoring 374 runs from 13 innings at an average of 31.16 and strike rate of 162.60.
Earlier, in IPL 2024 when SRH started the trend to go on an allout attack in powerplay overs of all games, he had scored 567 runs at a strike rate of 191.55. As a result, he was retained for Rs 14 crore before IPL 2025 mega auction. While SRH management may not just lose patience with Head just yet, the next season, the 2016 edition winners may not retain him before next mega auction.
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