Sunrisers Hyderabad have failed to replicate their brilliance of 2024 and are hanging by the thinnest of threads in the race to the playoffs in IPL 2025. Meanwhile, SRH pacer Jaydev Unadkat has attributed the team’s decline to the changing pitches and ineffective bowling.
Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Jaydev Unadkat has attributed the team’s poor run in the Indian Premier League 2025 to the changes in the pitches and the ineffective bowling that the team is doing this season. SRH suffered a loss to Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad as their bowlers leaked plenty of runs, while the batters found it tough to chase 225 on a black soil pitch.
Unadkat opened up on the poor run in the tournament. “From my experience of playing in the IPL, for a team to do well, there has to be at least three or four guys, in terms of your bowling, who have to contribute in every game. And probably this year I would say that we are lacking that when two guys are bowling well, the other three are probably not really bowling in tandem,” Unadkat told the media.
SRH have been found wanting in the bowling, just like they have been lacking the big runs with the bat. Unadkat reasoned the lack of partnerships in bowling as one of the key reasons that denied creating pressure.
“Like we look at partnerships in terms of batting, I think it’s the same in bowling as well. Because when you are not bowling well from both ends, it creates unnecessary pressure on the other guy. And then the plans also change. So we have to take the blame for not being the best bowling side in the tournament,” he said.
“When you want to win games, you got to be the best. And we haven’t been the best. I can’t say that there is anything that we lack in terms of practising, training and planning. It’s just the execution out there on the field, which can go wrong at times,” he added.
Sunrisers made the finals of IPL 2024 on the back of their batting might, but haven’t been able to replicate that this year in a bid to go one step ahead. Unadkat feels that the bowlers are coming up with new strategies and also the pitches are not as flat as they were last year.
“Last year, we scored 200-plus in four or five matches, and that gave us a sense that we had set a standard. But that can’t always be the norm. Other teams and batters are planning better now, and bowlers are also adapting and coming up with new strategies,” Unadkat said.
“Last year, swing was enough to make an impact, but this year, it’s about using variations effectively. Also, the pitches are playing a big role. Last year we had a lot of flat pitches, whereas this time we’ve had more difficult ones.
That’s why we haven’t been able to carry the same momentum,” he said.