"Only God can save them": SRH's bowling attack slammed as "fake" and "terrible" after RCB thrashing

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) bowling attack came under heavy fire after their crushing defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL 2026 opener at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 28.

SRH faced the defending champions without their regular captain and Australian fast bowling superstar Pat Cummins, and they failed to defend 201 runs in the season opener. Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal stitched a record-breaking partnership of 101 runs off just 45 balls to help RCB chase down the total in just 26 balls to spare. It was the fastest 200+ chase in IPL history.

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The main reason behind this crushing defeat was Sunrisers Hyderabad's weak bowling attack. Harshal Patel and Eshan Malinga leaked 74 runs in less than five overs without taking a single wicket. The other bowlers also failed to create pressure, leaving RCB batters free to dominate the chase.

Kris Srikkanth slams SRH bowling as 'Fake' and 'Weak'

After the match, former Indian chief selector Kris Srikkanth slammed Sunrisers Hyderabad’s bowling attack as “fake” and “weak” as he felt it was unable to handle quality batting.

The World Cup winner also demanded the ouster of Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat from the SRH side and their replacement with some real match-winners, unless their batters have to hit 400 runs to win the matches.

Kris Srikkanth said in a video posted on his YouTube channel, "If you play with Harshal Patel and Unadkat as your main bowlers, only God can save them. How long can they continue to manage with this fake bowling? Eventually, you need some good bowlers. It’s not just a judgment based on one match. And yet they keep hyping about scoring 300 with the bat. Their bowling can’t go on with these kinds of bowlers. They’ll need 400 with this bowling.”

Even Pat Cummins’ return will not fix SRH's seriously terrible attack: Srikkanth

The former Indian captain also questioned Sunrisers Hyderabad's decision to open the bowling with Nitish Kumar Reddy against the RCB. He also warned the Hyderabad franchise by saying that even with Pat Cummins’ return, their bowling attack looks too weak to defend big totals.

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Srikkanth added, “SRH bowling is seriously terrible. They are opening with Nitish Kumar Reddy. I can’t even understand the logic behind that. Payne just took a fluky two wickets. Malinga got smashed. How long can they do with this kind of bowling lineup? Even if Cummins comes back, this bowling looks too weak. The speeds of these bowlers are also so low. Playing guys like Payne, they have no scope.”

Srikkanth hails Devdutt Padikkal's 'extraordinary knock'

However, Srikkanth praised Devdutt Padikkal for his blazing 61 off 26 balls, saying the innings set up the perfect chase for RCB. He noted that Padikkal’s match-winning knock proved that strong domestic form and focusing on basics can make a big impact at the top level.

He signed off by saying, “It was an extraordinary knock. This proves again that if you do well in domestic cricket and return to the basics, you’ll do well at higher levels. By going back to the basics, you correct yourself and come back. He played effortless shots. He finished off the SRH bowling.”