Heinrich Klaasen criticizes SRH batsmen: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have had a tough start to Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026; They have won only one match so far out of the three played in the tournament. The Orange Army won by 65 runs against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their second match at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
In the very next game, they played Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), and on a difficult wicket, they played well as the match went into trouble, as LSG won the game on the second last ball of the match. Ishan Kishan’s team is struggling with its batting, especially its top order, as the top order has not performed well.
Heinrich Klaasen criticized Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma
Only Ishan Kishan scored a half-century in the first game and neither of the two openers, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, have been able to score a half-century in the tournament so far. Most of the runs for SRH have been scored by the middle order, especially Heinrich Klaasen. The South African batsman is currently ranked second in the Orange Cap list.
After the defeat against LSG, Heinrich Klaasen came out openly against his own teammates. The Proteas cricketer called out his teammates after the franchise’s second defeat in three matches of IPL 2026. Taking aim at the batsmen after SRH scored only 156-9 in 20 overs against LSG, the cricketer claimed that the team failed to execute its plan with the bat.
We just didn’t execute – Klaasen
Heinrich Klaasen said, “The rest of the players in the group are super experienced, especially our fast department. The wickets were good in the two matches where we struggled, we did not perform with the bat as we wanted.”
The 34-year-old cricketer also took a dig at his bowlers after the team failed to defend a score of over 200 in the opening match of the IPL 2026 season against RCB. Speaking at the JioStar press room, Klaasen said that while the bowlers have struggled to defend the total, SRH’s batting has also been disappointing this season.
It’s a big loss- Heinrich Klaasen on Pat Cummins’ absence
“It’s easy to say that our bowlers lack experience or are fired up, but in the two games we lost, the batsmen left around 20 to 30 runs on the board. When we played KKR, we put enough runs on the board and that’s our job,” Klaasen said.
“We need to get to that 220 or 230 mark, which is why we have prepared the team that way to give our bowlers a fair chance of defending.”
Heinrich Klaasen also gave an update on Pat Cummins and his importance to the team. “I think we have scored around 40 runs in the last three games, so our batsmen still have a lot of work to do. Obviously, if you miss a player like Pat Cummins in any team or any format, it is a big loss,” he said.
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