'It is easy to say our bowlers lack experience, but batters need to contribute more' - Heinrich Klaasen on SRH's dismal start in IPL 2026

Published - 07 Apr 2026, 14:55 IST | Updated - 07 Apr 2026, 15:16 IST

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have only one win from their first three games in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL). They have a bit of time to work on their mistakes, as they will return to action on Saturday.

One of the major concerns for the Orange Army has been their unconvincing bowling attack. Both games they lost were while they were defending totals. However, star batter Heinrich Klaasen refused to call the bowling attack weak. Instead, he mentioned that the team is healing from injuries to talismanic speedsters Pat Cummins and Brydon Carse.

While Carse has been ruled out of the entire tournament due to an injury, Cummins is working hard behind the scenes to attain full fitness. However, Klaasen believes that the batters have actually scored 40 runs lesser than they should have across the first three games and this has cost the former champions.

"I think we have messed up about 40 runs over the last three games, so there is still a lot of work for our batters to do. Obviously, if you miss a player like Pat Cummins in any team or any format, that is a big loss," Klaasen said while speaking on JioStar Press Room.

"Losing Brydon Carse as well, after he got hit on the hand, really did not help our plans either. However, the rest of the group is super experienced, especially our pace department. The wickets have been good in the two games where we struggled, we simply did not execute with the bat like we wanted to," he added.

The former South Africa wicketkeeper added that the Sunrisers need to post 220-plus totals to give themselves a chance to emerge victorious.

"It is easy to say our bowlers lack experience or are under the pump, but in the two games we lost, the batters left about 20 to 30 runs on the board. When we played KKR, we put enough runs on the board and that is our job. We need to reach that 220 or 230 mark, as that is why we set up the team the way we did, to give our bowlers a proper chance of defending," he concluded.

SRH will face the undefeated Punjab Kings in their next game of the season at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on Saturday.