Sunrisers Hyderabad’s difficult IPL 2025 campaign has taken another blow with 22-year-old batter R Smaran being ruled out due to injury. Smaran, who had come in as a replacement for Adam Zampa, will now be replaced by another 22-year-old—Harsh Dubey, a left-arm spin-bowling allrounder from Vidarbha. Dubey, signed at his base price of INR 30 lakh, enters the squad on the back of a record-breaking Ranji Trophy season where he picked up 69 wickets, the most ever in a single edition, surpassing Ashutosh Aman’s 68 from 2018-19. Despite his red-ball dominance, Dubey has had modest returns in white-ball cricket: 21 wickets at 34.66 in List A and nine wickets at an economy of 6.78 in T20s, but his recent domestic form has significantly boosted his profile.
Unfortunately for Dubey, he joins a Sunrisers side whose 2025 season is nearly beyond saving. With just three wins from ten matches, SRH sit ninth on the points table and can only reach a maximum of 14 points even if they win all their remaining games. Their chances are further dimmed by a net run-rate of -1.192, the worst among all teams, including already-eliminated Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. After reaching the final in IPL 2024, this dramatic decline has been one of the season’s biggest surprises. SRH will look to salvage pride and test new talent like Dubey when they face Delhi Capitals at home in Hyderabad on Monday.