It could be a bit of an issue

Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that the SunRisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) initial IPL 2026 schedule could be an issue for the franchise. He pointed out that SRH are playing three of their first four games away from home, where they might not get pitches that suit them.

The SunRisers Hyderabad will lock horns with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28. They will subsequently face the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Kolkata on April 2, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Hyderabad on April 5, and the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in New Chandigarh on April 11.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ the former India opener reckoned that SRH playing only one of their first four IPL 2026 games at home could be a potential problem.

“Interestingly enough, the Gujarat Titans and the SunRisers Hyderabad have got only one match apiece at home. I am just wondering about Hyderabad because they are a team that needs an absolutely flat pitch. They didn’t get a pitch to their liking at home as well last time,” Chopra said.

“They have one home game, and that’s an afternoon match, or else all other games are away. If you think about it from Hyderabad’s perspective, to hit the ground running, they need to start on a good pitch. If they don’t get that, it could be a bit of a problem, although it can start at the Chinnaswamy. However, just one game being at home, I think it could be a bit of an issue,” he added.

The SunRisers Hyderabad have a destructive batting lineup featuring Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen. They would want to play on flat tracks to help their batters gain confidence at the start of the campaign.

“It could be an advantageous or disadvantageous deal” – Aakash Chopra on SunRisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans’ initial IPL 2026 schedule

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that the SunRisers Hyderabad and the Gujarat Titans’ (GT) initial IPL 2026 schedule could also work to their advantage.

“The Gujarat Titans also have just one game at home. That’s against the Rajasthan Royals, and that’s at least an evening game, because even the pitch is not flat at times in afternoon games. So I feel for SunRisers Hyderabad. However, the other side to it is that it could be an advantageous or disadvantageous deal,” he said.

The former Kolkata Knight Riders player pointed out that the two franchises would be in a great position if they win at least two of their first three away games.

“If you have got only one out of four at the start at home, and if you win two of your away matches, when you will get consecutive matches at home, suddenly you realize you have got on a roll, and you are staying at home. So it could be a good or bad thing. However, if the start is not good, then it can bite back,” Chopra observed.

The Gujarat Titans begin their IPL 2026 campaign with a clash against the Punjab Kings in New Chandigarh on March 31. They will subsequently face the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Ahmedabad on April 4, the Delhi Capitals (DC) in Delhi on April 8, and the Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow on April 12.