When the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) snapped more than Rs 11 crore at Ishan Kishan, it stirred eyebrows. The reason was simple. They already retained a power-packed batting group. Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Heinrich Klaasen all dazzled IPL 2024 and deservingly got retained by SRH for IPL 2025. But the Orange Army went as high as Rs 11.75 crore for Kishan, who is another wicketkeeper. Klaasen was already a designated keeper for the IPL 2016 champions.
IPL 2025: Does Ishan Kishan really fit in SRH?
There’s no denying that Ishan Kishan is a supremely talented batter who can change the course of a game in no time. The southpaw, who is one of the rare players to have a double century in an ODI, has an experience of over 100 IPL games. The two-time IPL winner has rocked 2,644 runs but his overall average is just 28.43. As an opener, his average and strike rate are slightly better—33.98 and 141.82, which is also great but not mind-boggling.
At SRH, Kishan isn’t going to open anyway. He is expected to bat at number three. But at one down, Kishan’s numbers don’t pose a great picture: 19.64 (average) and 120.00 (SR). Having Ishan Kishan is surely a great thing for the Sunrisers, but the team composition might not ideally suit the Indian international, who is having a dwindling confidence anyway.
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IPL 2025: ‘Inconsistent’ Ishan Kishan won’t help SRH
Unfortunately for SRH, Ishan Kishan isn’t in great form either. While the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh, and Mayank Agarwal are splashing hundreds of innings after innings, Kishan isn’t having fun in domestic cricket. Recently on Tuesday, Kishan disappointed again, scoring just 8 off 13 against Odisha in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Whereas his opening partner Utkarsh Singh hammered 91* off 60, Kishan was dismissed by Rajesh Mohanty.
While Kishan surely scored a superb century against Manipur recently, he hasn’t breached the 50-mark score otherwise. His last 5 innings score read 8, 24, 36, 134, 27. This shows he isn’t out of form but the inconsistencies always crop up in his game. Even at the Mumbai Indians, Kishan blew hot and cold. In the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) for Jharkhand, Kishan had just one fifty in six innings.
At Rs 11.25 crore, Kishan might not be the base option for SRH. You look at other players around this price range. Phil Salt is an ultra explosive opener who had a tremendous 2024. Marcus Stoinis is another aggressive player who can bat anywhere and can easily bowl 4 overs on his day.
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