How long until Kerala’s Sachin gets a chance with Sunrisers as their batters struggle

Even as their famed batters have regularly faltered in IPL 2025, Sunrisers Hyderabad continue to resist playing experienced Kerala player Sachin Baby.

The 35-year-old left-hander has frequently made it to the Sunrisers' bench in most of their matches, even while batting first, but has yet to play. Sachin showed his potential in the intra-squad matches ahead of the season. He scored a 23-ball 49 and a 15-ball 36 batting toward the end of the innings in the practice games.

However, the Sunrisers management has been reluctant to try other batting options once the season started. Abhinav Manohar is the only batter used off the bench in eight of their matches so far this season.

Barring a patient 37-ball 43 against Mumbai Indians on April 23, Manohar has only managed to score in single digits. Sunrisers lost the match against MI by 7 wickets after being restricted to 143/8. SRH had a major batting collapse that left them reeling at 13/4 and 35/5 before Heinrich Klaasen's heroic 71 off 44 came to their rescue. 

Ishan Kishan is another batter who has repeatedly gotten chances despite a string of poor scores. After beginning the season with a splendid century, India international Kishan has been dismissed for 2, 9, 27, 2, 2, 0 and 1, while a like-for-like replacement in Sachin warmed the bench.

Sachin is one of the six left-hand batters in the Sunrisers squad; Kishan, Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Kamindu Mendis, and Atharva Taide are the others. The Sunrisers secured Sachin's services in the IPL Mega Auction for his base price of Rs. 30 lakh.

Sachin is one of the four Kerala players in IPL 2025. While Sanju Samson captains Rajasthan Royals, Vignesh Puthur is having a breakout year with Mumbai Indians. Punjab Kings' Vishnu Vinod is the other Keralite who has yet to get a game this season.