"Also complements Cummins with the new ball" - Former RCB coach on SRH ahead of IPL 2026 auction

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) coach Sanjay Bangar has opined that Jaydev Unadkat could share the new ball with Pat Cummins for the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2026. He also reckoned that Aniket Verma could bat at No. 5 for the Hyderabad-based franchise.

SRH have a remaining purse of ₹25.50 crore heading into the IPL 2026 auction. They can buy at most 10 players, including two overseas, in the mini auction in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, December 16.

During an interaction on Star Sports, Bangar was asked about SRH potentially having a settled top five in Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy. While observing that Aniket could bat above Nitish, the former India all-rounder noted that Unadkat and Zeeshan Ansari might be a part of the franchise's playing combination.

"Aniket Verma is a very impressive player. So he can come in straightaway and maybe bat ahead of Nitish because he can take the spin on, and he was very, very fabulous in terms of his attacking strokeplay against spin," Bangar said.

"They won't mind playing somebody like a Jaydev Unadkat because they play on such surfaces, wherein change of pace is quite effective in Hyderabad, bigger ground. Also complements Cummins with the new ball, with that right-left combination. If you look at the lack of spin in this particular lineup, Zeeshan can give you that spin-bowling option along with Abhishek," he added.

Aniket Verma smashed 236 runs at a strike rate of 166.19 in 12 innings for SRH in IPL 2025. While Jaydev Unadkat picked up 11 wickets at an economy rate of 7.34 in seven innings, Zeeshan Ansari accounted for six dismissals while conceding an average of 9.84 runs per over in 10 innings.

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"They can spend a lot of their money on getting Ravi Bishnoi" - Sanjay Bangar on SRH needing to acquire a wrist-spinner in IPL 2026 auction

Ravi Bishnoi was released by LSG ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. [P.C: Getty]

In the same interaction, Sanjay Bangar was asked whether the SunRisers Hyderabad's primary target at the IPL 2026 auction would be a new-ball bowler like Akash Deep or a wrist-spinner.

"I think they will go the wrist-spin way, and that's where you have somebody like a Ravi Bishnoi available in the auction, and they have the purse. They can spend a lot of their money on getting Ravi Bishnoi," he responded.

The former India batting coach highlighted that Rashid Khan, a bowler similar to Ravi Bishnoi, enjoyed great success at SRH's home ground.

"Don't forget that his style of bowling was quite successful at the Hyderabad ground, wherein Rashid was that hit-the-wicket bowler all the time, flattish trajectory. So SRH, for all you know, might spend a lot on acquiring Ravi Bishnoi," Bangar observed.

Ravi Bishnoi did not have a great run for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2025. He picked up nine wickets at an economy rate of 10.83 in 11 innings and was outshone by Digvesh Rathi.