R Ashwin fumes in SRH batting collapse, advises ‘management to think’ Travis Head’s future

SRH management should reconsider Travis Head’s future: Ashwin (Image: IPL) Ravichandran Ashwin has been heavily critical of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s reckless batting approach following their 47-run defeat to Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2026 Eliminator, even hinting that the franchise management may have to make a tough call over Travis Head’s future.Chasing a massive target of 244, SRH’s explosive batting line-up crumbled under pressure during a disastrous power-play collapse. Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger made their way through the top order as Hyderabad slipped to 57/4 in the first five overs, effectively derailing the chase.Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for a duck in Archer’s opener, while Ishan Kishan’s aggressive cameo of 33 from just 11 balls ended prematurely after what Ashwin described as a wasted shot. Smaran Ravichandran fell cheaply before Archer struck the biggest blow by clean bowling Travis Head for 17 off eight balls.Despite battling knocks from Nitish Kumar Reddy (38 off 20) and Salil Arora (35 off 21), SRH never quite recovered from the early collapse and were eventually bowled out for 196 in 19.2 overs.Reacting to the defeat on his YT channel ‘Ash Ki baat’, Ashwin criticized SRH’s shot selection and lack of game awareness in such a high pressure knockout clash.“I think SRH could have won this match quite easily. When they had already scored 32-34 runs in the first two overs and almost 50 in the first three overs, Ishan Kishan’s shot was completely wasted. He threw away his wicket,” Ashwin said.“There was absolutely no point in playing a shot like that in such a big game. It was a very bad shot,” he added. Ashwin was particularly critical of Travis Head’s season and suggested that the SRH management should rethink its role moving forward.“Travis Head has not performed at all this season. The management must definitely think about Travis Head. He should have played more responsibly. There was no point in getting out with such a bad shot,” added Ashwin.The veteran spinner felt that SRH still had a real chance while Nitish Kumar Reddy was at the crease, but the constant loss of wickets made a massive chase impossible.“SRH were still in the game till the 14th over when Nitish Kumar Reddy was batting. But if you keep losing so many wickets, you can never chase such a huge number.”“If SRH had shown a bit more awareness of the game and played with a calmer mind, they could have won this match comfortably. It was a very poor batting performance from the SRH team to be honest,” he concluded.