The Sunrisers Hyderabad are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Hyderabad, Telangana, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by Kalanithi Maran of Sun Group and was founded in 2013 after the Hyderabad-based Deccan Chargers in erstwhile United Andhra Pradesh were terminated by the IPL. The team is coached by Daniel Vettori and captained by Pat Cummins. The home ground of the team is Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.
The team made their first IPL appearance in 2013, where they reached the playoffs, eventually finishing in fourth place. The Sunrisers won their first IPL title in the 2016 season, defeating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 8 runs in the final. The team has qualified for the play-off stage of the tournament for five consecutive seasons between 2016 and 2020. In 2018, the team reached the finals of the Indian Premier League, but lost to the Chennai Super Kings. In 2024, the team reached the finals of the Indian Premier League, but lost to the Kolkata Knight Riders. The team was considered one of the best bowling teams, often admired for its ability to defend low totals, but now has shifted to a remarkable batting team, according to many cricket pundits. The team also holds the record for the highest-ever IPL total with 287 runs and holds many IPL batting records. David Warner is the leading run scorer for the team, having won the Orange Cap three times, in 2015, 2017, and 2019. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the leading wicket-taker having won the Purple Cap twice, in 2016 and 2017. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the brand value of the Sunrisers Hyderabad which saw a decline of 4% to 57.4 million in 2020 as the overall brand value of the IPL decreased to 4.4 billion, according to Brand Finance.
Franchise history Sunrisers Hyderabad replaced the Deccan Chargers in 2012 and debuted in the 2013 season. The franchise was awarded to the Sun TV Network after the termination of the Deccan Chargers, whose owners, Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd, were expelled from the league by the BCCI following prolonged financial and operational issues. The new ownership group, led by media baron Kalanithi Maran of the Sun Group, secured the Hyderabad-based franchise rights with a successful bid of per year for a five‑year period, making it one of the more lucrative team deals in the league at the time. The formal announcement of the squad took place in Chennai on 18 December 2012, marking the official transition from the Deccan Chargers era to the Sunrisers Hyderabad brand.
Sun TV Network Limited, headquartered in Chennai, is one of India's largest television and media conglomerates, operating a wide portfolio of regional and national channels across multiple Indian languages. At the time of the franchise acquisition, the network owned 32 television channels and 45 FM radio stations, giving the team substantial promotional reach and allowing the brand to be marketed aggressively across southern India. The entry of Sun TV into the IPL also reinforced the close association between Indian media houses and franchise ownership, with the group leveraging its existing sports broadcasting and entertainment platforms to build the new team's identity and fan base.
The team jersey was unveiled on 8 March 2013, featuring a predominantly orange and black colour scheme intended to symbolise energy, aggression and the rising sun motif that would come to define the franchise's visual identity. The team anthem, composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, was released on 12 March 2013 and was used extensively in promotional campaigns and stadium presentations during the inaugural season. The team logo was previously unveiled on 20 December 2012, depicting a stylised eagle with outstretched wings rising against the sun, a design meant to represent resilience, renewal and the continuation of Hyderabad's IPL legacy after the exit of the Deccan Chargers."a new window Sunrisers unveil logo, rope in VVS, Srikkanth, Trevor Baylis". Wisden India. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
Alongside the branding and ownership announcements, the franchise put in place an experienced cricket operations group ahead of their debut campaign. The initial team management was led by former India opener Kris Srikkanth, who was appointed mentor and chief strategist, with support from a backroom staff that included high‑profile international coaches and consultants. Over time, this structure evolved, with Srikkanth later being replaced by a management group featuring veteran cricketers such as Daniel Vettori, Muttiah Muralitharan and Varun Aaron in various coaching and mentoring roles. These appointments were aimed at combining local talent from the Hyderabad region with a strong overseas core, as the franchise sought to quickly establish itself as a competitive side in the league while also differentiating its identity from that of its predecessor, the Deccan Chargers.
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Team history
2013–2015: Initial years Sunrisers Hyderabad made their IPL debut in the 2013 season. They retained 20 players from the Chargers, which left slots open for 13 players (eight Indian, five overseas). They filled six of these with Thisara Perera, Darren Sammy, Sudeep Tyagi, Nathan McCullum, Quinton de Kock and Clint McKay. Kumar Sangakkara captained SRH for nine matches and Cameron White was captain for the remaining seven, as well as the eliminator match in the playoffs. In their inaugural season, the team reached the playoffs but were eliminated after losing against Rajasthan Royals by 4 wickets at Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi on 22 May 2013. The team played all of their home games in Hyderabad.
For the 2014 season, Pune Warriors India was defunct and not replaced, leaving only eight teams in the league. The team retained two players, Dale Steyn and Shikhar Dhawan. As a result of this retention, the team had an auction purse of and two right-to-match cards. Shikhar Dhawan and Darren Sammy were named as captain and vice captain respectively. Due to the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, the season was partially held outside India with the opening 20 matches hosted in the United Arab Emirates and the remaining matches played in India from 2 May onwards. The team finished in 6th place with six wins and eight losses, failing to secure a place in the playoffs. Dhawan led the team for the first ten matches while Sammy led the team for remaining four.
For the 2015 season, SRH retained 13 players and released 11. David Warner was appointed as the captain for this season and led the team in all matches played. Muttiah Muralitharan was appointed the team's bowling coach as well as mentor. Sunrisers Hyderabad played their first three home games at Visakhapatnam and the remaining four home games at Hyderabad. The team again finished 6th with seven wins and seven losses, failing to reach the playoffs. Warner won the first Orange Cap for SRH.
2016–2020: Maiden title and consecutive playoff appearances For the 2016 season, SRH retained 15 players and released nine. After the auction, SRH traded two players. Sunrisers Hyderabad were crowned champions under David Warner's magnificent captaincy after defeating Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final and ending the season with 11 wins and six losses. They are the only team to win the IPL playing in the Eliminator- the match between third and fourth-placed teams. This was their maiden, and to date only, title. Bhuvneshwar Kumar became the first Sunrisers Hyderabad player to win the Purple Cap.
For the 2017 season, SRH retained 17 players and released six from the title-winning squad. The team then spent at the auction, leaving remaining. As the defending champions, as per IPL norms, SRH hosted both the opening and closing ceremonies of the season. The team finished 3rd on points in the table. They lost against the Kolkata Knight Riders in the eliminator match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The team made a below-par total of 128–7 in 20 overs, but the Kolkata Knight Riders' innings was reduced to just six overs due to rain. The revised total was 48, which the Knight Riders met with seven wickets and four balls remaining. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was able to retain the Purple Cap while David Warner won the Orange Cap.
For the 2018 season, the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were reinstated in the league after serving a two-year suspension from the competition due to the involvement of their players in the 2013 IPL betting scandal. The IPL governing council decided that a maximum of five players can be retained by each IPL team. SRH retained only two players and released all remaining players from the squad. The retention of two players meant SRH went in to the 2018 IPL auction with 59 crore in their auction purse and three right-to-match (RTM) cards. The salary deduction for every retained player from the franchise's salary purse was stipulated to be 15 crore, 11 crore and 7 crore if three players were retained; 12.5 crore and 8.5 crore if two players were retained; and 12.5 crore if only one player was retained. For retaining an uncapped player, salary deduction was set at 3 crore. David Warner had stepped down from captaincy on 28 March 2018 and the BCCI announced that he will not be allowed to play in IPL 2018 following the Australian ball-tampering controversy. On 29 March, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was chosen to lead SRH for the 2018 season. On 31 March, England batsman Alex Hales was announced as replacement for the banned Warner. SRH finished the 2018 season as runners-up of the competition after losing to Chennai Super Kings in the final with 10 wins and seven losses. Williamson won the Orange Cap with 735 runs.
Ahead of the auction, SRH traded Shikhar Dhawan to Delhi Capitals in favour of Shahbaz Nadeem, Vijay Shankar and Abhishek Sharma. SRH retained 17 players and released nine players. On auction day (18 December 2018), SRH bought three new players; Jonny Bairstow, Martin Guptill and Wriddhiman Saha, the latter of which was bought back in the auction after initially being released. David Warner made a comeback to IPL on 24 March 2019 after he was banned by BCCI to participate in 2018 season due to Australian ball-tampering controversy. SRH decided to stay with Kane Williamson as captain and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as vice-captain. Before start of the season, Williamson was nursing an injury and Kumar led the team in the first game against Kolkata Knight Riders and from the third game till the sixth game. SRH ended the 2019 season with 6 wins and 9 losses. They lost against Delhi Capitals in the Eliminator at Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Warner won the orange cap in this season.
Ahead of the auction, SRH retained 18 players and released 5 players. On auction day (19 December 2019), SRH bought 7 new players including the likes of Mitchell Marsh and Priyam Garg among others. SRH parted ways with Tom Moody and Simon Helmot and named Trevor Bayliss and Brad Haddin as Head coach and Assistant Coach respectively. On 27 February 2020, Warner was reinstated as captain of SRH replacing Kane Williamson. SRH ended their 2020 campaign with 8 wins and 8 losses. In the playoffs, they beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore before losing to the Delhi Capitals in the Qualifier 2 at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi with Warner as their highest run-scorer for the season.
2021–2023: Struggles