It has been a busy few weeks for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the trade window ahead of the November 17th retention and release deadline. The 2016 champions struck gold when they got Khaleel Ahmed and Nathan Ellis in a blockbuster trade deal.
Englishman Liam Livingstone and Australian all-rounder Jack Edwards will be heading to Chennai Super Kings ahead of the next season. The four-player trade deal was confirmed on Thursday.
On paper, it is SRH who have got the better deal with two proven pacers coming their way. This could change a lot of dynamics heading into the new campaign and make the side much stronger if they have a good mini-auction.
Hyderabad seem to be covering all the bases
Khaleel has already played for SRH in the past, taking 32 wickets from 24 games. Meanwhile, he was the best bowler for Chennai with 15 scalps from 14 games in 2025. Last year, the pacer’s season ended early after suffering an injury.
With Pat Cummins a massive doubt for the upcoming season, Kavya Maran-owned side is busy covering their bases. They would need someone to bowl with the new ball and play the pace spearhead if Cummins opts out of the season.
Ahmed has the ability to take wickets with the new ball. He can also guide the likes of Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain, who impressed everyone in their debut campaign.
Death overs bowling gets stronger
The bowling in the last five overs has been a huge worry for most sides, but SRH have an economy rate of 9.49 runs per over in the last five overs, which is the best for any side in the death overs.
Nathan Ellis’ arrival could make them a stronger unit in the last few overs of the game, considering the Aussie star can confuse the batters with his lines and lengths. The pacer can bowl slower balls and deadly yorkers.
T Natarajan has been traded from Delhi Capitals, with Zeeshan Ansari going the other way. The 35-year-old Tamil Nadu star is another proven match-winner with the ball who can take key wickets.
How does this make SRH strong?
If Cummins misses the IPL 2027 season, then Khaleel can open the bowling with Eshan Malinga. Nathan and Natarajan are the specialist middle and death-overs bowlers. This guarantees 16 overs of tight bowling. The rest of the four overs could be distributed between Nitish Kumar Reddy or the likes of Shivang Kumar and Harsh Dubey, who can take care of the spin department.
The latest trades show that the former champions aren’t acting out of haste. They already have a strong batting unit and also a very potent middle-order. It is the bowling that needed to be addressed, and they seem to be doing that.