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Sunrisers Hyderabad’s blazing start to IPL 2025 now feels like a distant memory.
After dismantling Rajasthan Royals in their opener, the team has slumped to three consecutive defeats—raising alarms over their all-out attack strategy and lacklustre bowling at the death. But bowling coach James Franklin remains unshaken, backing his misfiring stars to bounce back with the explosive flair they’re known for.
A string of losses—to Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals, and most recently, a heavy 80-run defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders—has raised questions about SRH's overly aggressive approach and their faltering death bowling.
At the heart of the team’s current struggles lies their rigid attacking intent with the bat. Hyderabad's top order has consistently looked to go big from the very first ball, often without assessing conditions or game context. Critics, including former players, have suggested that a more measured approach could serve them better—spending time at the crease and reading the surface before unleashing their natural power game.
Franklin, however, stood firmly behind his batters' attacking philosophy, insisting it's the same style that brought them success last season.
"That hasn't worked in the last two games. It can sometimes be the nature of the game we play and the way our batters want to play the game. It hasn't been our best stuff in past games. We have confidence in our group to play the attacking brand that we have shown over the last year or so," Franklin said during the post-match press conference.
Yet, it's not just the batting that's under the scanner. Hyderabad’s inability to close out innings with the ball—particularly in the death overs—has proved costly. Against Kolkata, SRH leaked 78 runs in the final five overs, turning what could have been a chasable total into a daunting 200/6. That collapse proved too much for the misfiring batters to overcome.
Franklin didn’t shy away from acknowledging the issue and stressed that the bowling group will need to regroup quickly.
"65 runs off the last four overs probably reflect that we didn't get it quite right. At the halfway stage, KKR were 84 or 85/2. If we'd managed the back 10 overs right, we probably could have kept them to 170-180, but we didn't quite get it right. The execution wasn't right," he admitted.
The New Zealander also reflected on his own role in the planning and encouraged open communication and accountability within the team.
"As a coach, sometimes you sit there and think, could we have done better? Could we have been technically a bit braver in some aspects? Those are conversations that we'll have in the coming days before we go again on Sunday. It's reflection; it is between myself and the players who were out there, who will look to come back better, especially with the execution in death overs," he added.
With a critical clash against Gujarat Titans coming up on Sunday, SRH will be looking to regroup quickly and return to winning ways. For that to happen, both their destructive batting and disciplined bowling need to fire in unison—just like they did at the start of the season.