Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) have been hurt the most by injury issues heading into IPL 2026. He highlighted that three of their overseas players are unlikely to be available at the start of the tournament.
Jack Edwards, one of SRH’s overseas signings, has reportedly been ruled out of IPL 2026. Pat Cummins and Eshan Malinga, who missed the T20 World Cup 2026 due to injuries, haven’t yet been cleared by their respective boards.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ the former India batter reckoned that SRH is the franchise most adversely impacted due to injuries heading into IPL 2026.
“At this moment, it seems like a team that will be troubled a lot are the SunRisers Hyderabad. We came to know about the captain. Apart from him, there was hope that Jack Edwards is part of the team, and that he could be used, but you won’t be able to use him as well. He is not there. He has also left,” Chopra said.
“So Jack Edwards has left and Pat Cummins isn’t available at the moment. Brydon Carse is there, but we don’t know about Eshan Malinga. So three of their overseas players aren’t available at the moment, and that is a big problem. So the SunRisers Hyderabad are at the greatest loss at the moment,” he added.
Aakash Chopra highlighted that the SunRisers Hyderabad would have to field Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen, Brydon Carse, and either Kamindu Mendis or Liam Livingstone as the four overseas players in their playing combination at the start of IPL 2026. He added that the Hyderabad-based side’s problems are compounded by the fact that they are playing only one of their first four games at home.
“It’s a slight issue for them” – Aakash Chopra on KKR’s injury concerns heading into IPL 2026
In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is another franchise with injury-related issues heading into IPL 2026.
“Another team that was slightly troubled from earlier, and has become even more troubled are KKR because Harshit Rana is not there, Matheesha Pathirana’s status is not known, and Mustafizur Rahman is also not there. So it’s a slight issue for them,” he said.
The cricketer-turned-commentator opined that the Rajasthan Royals (RR) would be hit hard due to Sam Curran‘s potential absence.
“I am slightly worried about Sam Curran. Suddenly, they don’t have an all-rounder. I feel Sam Curran was very important in two aspects. One is that he bowls at the death, and when they would have gone to the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, he would have been a force to reckon with. The side boundaries are long and he would have done the job with his slower ones, but he is not there now,” Chopra elaborated.
Chopra added that RR would once again lack batting depth and might be forced to play either Nandre Burger or Kwena Maphaka.
“Who will bat at No. 8? Suddenly, their batting will stop at No. 7 one more time. They might try to use Shubham Dubey, but you have Ravindra Jadeja at No. 7. You would have had an option had Sam Curran been there, but now you might have to play one of Nandre Burger and Kwena Maphaka,” he observed.
Aakash Chopra highlighted that the Rajasthan Royals (RR) would not be able to play Lhuan-dre Pretorius as they don’t have any vacancies in the top order. He added that the franchise would have to play two overseas batters in Donovan Ferreira and Shimron Hetmyer and a second specialist overseas seamer alongside Jofra Archer.
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Edited by Kartik Iyer
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