'SRH batting like youngsters in fancy cars going through red lights and not being caught': Gavaskar gets brutally honest

There was a different excitement and talk around the Sunrisers Hyderabad team when IPL 2025 kicked off. On paper, they were among the title contenders, but the discussions were largely around whether they could breach the 300-run mark in the tournament. SRH further fueled the possibility after they smashed a record 286/6 in their opening game. However, the 2016 champions have since struggled to get past 200 as they lost four straight matches in a row.

SRH kicked off their IPL 2025 campaign right where they left off in the last season, where they had finished as runners-up. They beat Rajasthan Royals in their opener after falling one run short of breaking their own record for the highest-ever team score in IPL history. But the SRH batters haven't clicked thereafter. In fact, their daunting opening pair of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, who had terrorised new-ball bowlers last season, managed just 84 runs together this season, with not a single half-century stand. Even Ishan Kishan, who was expected to add to SRH's aggressive mindset, especially after a century in the opening game, scored just 21 runs in the next four matches, including three single-digit scores.

In his column in Sportstar, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar compared the SRH batters to youngsters in fancy cars who have managed not to get caught despite going to red lights until now.

"There is something about speed, isn't there? Speed thrills but also sometimes kills. Last year, the Sunrisers Hyderabad, with their openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, set up a new template for how to bat in the Powerplay as well as beyond. They batted at breakneck speed, taking the opposition completely by surprise, and as a result, their team came very close to crossing the 300-run mark in the IPL. Their batting was like youngsters in their fancy sports cars going through traffic red lights and not being caught," he wrote.

How have oppositions exposed SRH?

Gavaskar also explained how SRH's aggressive intent was nullified in IPL 2025, saying that it was purely down to smart bowling from the opposition. The India legend then revealed that Sunrisers have fallen prey to slower deliveries in the last four matches.

"This year, in the first match, SRH went through the red light without being caught. But just as the traffic police get smarter and capture those offending cars, so too have the bowlers of IPL teams started to put the brakes on not just SRH but also other teams trying to emulate them. SRH have now, at the time of writing, lost four consecutive matches, where the top three have not made much of a contribution. Bowling slower deliveries and mixing them with the odd one into the ribcage of the batters has resulted in them holing out to the fielder at deep square-leg and being dismissed in the Powerplay itself. The batters will certainly have to find a new way to try and breach the red lights once again," he added.

SRH, languishing at the bottom of the points table, will next face Punjab Kings on Saturday at home.