That’s what RCB have got

Former Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) coach Tom Moody feels that while the franchise has been playing an aggressive and bold brand of cricket with the willow, they have been forced to sacrifice in the bowling. He explained that because SRH have invested heavily in their batting, their bowling resources are not as strong.

SRH went down to Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 47 runs in the IPL 2026 Eliminator in Mullanpur on Wednesday, May 27. Sent into bat, RR posted a challenging total of 243-8 on the board and then held SRH to 196.

During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo Timeout, Moody admitted that he was impressed with SRH’s ultra-aggressive brand of batsmanship. He, however, urged for better balance in batting and bowling departments. Moody elaborated:

“It is a brand to admire but it comes at a cost. They’re yet to lift the trophy with this brand. Yes, they’re giving themselves a window of opportunity. But the cost is also the fact that you need to invest to play that brand. And that investment is lost when it comes to the bowling side. So, you’re pouring a lot of money into the way you play as a batting unit. You’re left short with the finances to be able to build a strong bowling unit to be able to support that.”

“It’s [about] trying to find that balance and I think that’s what RCB have got. They’ve got that balance right. So, I’m not against the brand but you’ve got to try to balance it out when you’re talking about the salary cap and everything,” Moody added.

SRH did purchase skipper Pat Cummins for ₹20.50 crore ahead of the 2024 season. However, they do not have too many other star players in the bowling department. Ehsan Malinga did well this season, but Harshal Patel struggled.

“To win an IPL, you need to be smart as well as be powerful” – Ambati Rayudu on SRH

Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Ambati Rayudu also shared similar views to Moody on SRH’s exit from IPL 2026. He stated that they need to be smart as well as powerful and display better versatility in different conditions. He said:

“They can be brilliant like this. They’re very, very good on the eye. They’re very exciting. But still, to win an IPL, you need to be smart as well as be powerful. I think that can only improve if you get that kind of personnel and also get the balance and also be able to play in different conditions. That’s one area where they need to improve.”

SRH have won the IPL just once in 2016. They reached the final in 2018 and 2024, but finished runners-up on both occasions.