IPL 2025 SRH vs RR | Ishan will complement Abhishek-Head opening pair, says Vettori

Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach confirms opening pair for IPL 2025, discusses team's strategy and player updates.

Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Daniel Vettori confirmed that Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head will open the batting for the Orange Army in the Indian Premier League 2025. Questions about a possible tweak at the top of the order arose following the addition of Ishan Kishan and the New Zealander made it clear that the team will stick to its tried-and-tested partnership.

“I don’t think we’ll be changing the opening combination. Ishan complements them as well as anyone, he has a similar style of game, he is left-handed and has the ability to take on all types of bowlers,” he said ahead of SRH’s campaign opener against Rajasthan Royals.

Vettori also had positive news about skipper Pat Cummins and Nitish Kumar Reddy, two players who are coming into the season after spending some time on the sidelines due to injuries. “They’ve come through their training sessions well. Both of them look really eager and excited,” he stated.

SRH’s batting unit’s prowess has been well documented throughout last season and RR’s Sanju Samson said that his side has made plans to counter that ultra-aggressive approach.

“That’s the challenge of IPL, of coming to Hyderabad and playing against SRH, they come ultra aggressively to any bowling lineup. We have our plans but that’s the fun of IPL, right? It’s a very high-scoring pitch here. SRH has been scoring here continuously in the high 200s. It’s an afternoon game, so you never know. With a game of cricket, it can go either way,” he said.