IPL 2025: Sunrisers Hyderabad Sidelined for RCB?

Sunrisers Hyderabad has been one of the most consistent teams in the history of IPL. Despite winning the title only twice, they have always been a team that played with the highest spirit and fought hard in the face of defeat. This made them amass a consistent fan following across the country and with Pat Cummins as the captain, they have also turned into a lovable team. 

Last year, their comeback was nothing short of exceptional, and while Cummins gets a lot of credit, players like Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Abhishek Sharma lifted the team and sent them past the finish line with some exceptional performances. 

With their efforts, the team reached the finals but fell short of a dominant Kolkata Knight Rider (KKR) team. Despite the defeat, SRH was one of the most loved teams of last year’s IPL and everyone was expecting them to kick-start this year’s campaign against KKR.

But, that wasn’t meant to be. KKR will instead start their 2025 title defense against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the first match of this year at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. This decision by the BCCI to not have SRH’s match on the opening day sparked a huge debate online. 

Having RCB fight against KKR makes sense. RCB is one of the biggest teams in terms of fanbase and popularity. While this decision is logical in terms of TV ratings, Sunrisers Hyderabad is nothing short of a dream team and with their inspiring cricket, they can easily make new fans. 

Snubbing this opportunity off SRH made fans angry over the BCCI decision. Sunrisers will instead play on Day 2, where they will meet Rajasthan Royals in an afternoon match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal. The visibility of day matches is typically less in the IPL compared to night matches and SRH receiving an afternoon match despite being the tournament’s runner-up is not apt.

While there is no official explanation from the organizers over why this decision was made, fans have already concluded why Sunrisers were snubbed for Royal Challengers. Maybe a win this year will set things right for the Hyderabad IPL team.