IPL 2025: Kavya Maran’s SRH Losing Telugu Fanbase to Delhi Capitals?

Sunrisers Hyderabad has been one of the teams that disappointed its fans big time this IPL season. After reaching the finals last year, fans were expecting SRH to start strong and perform well this season. it to the playoffs again. But Pat Cummins and his team had other ideas. Even though they started strong, SRH couldn't find their way to good form as they struggled in multiple matches, thereby leading to their possible early exit.

It must be noted that SRH is not fully out of the tournament, and they can still make it if they manage to win all four matches and with help from other teams. But it's highly unlikely that they will make it to the final four this season. There are multiple reasons for Sunrisers' debacle, but the key reason is their bowling.

Despite having stalwarts like Pat Cummins and Mohammad Shami on the team, SRH bowlers struggled to make batsmen struggle in this year's IPL, and this is one of the main reasons for their failure overall as a team. Shami couldn't even manage to complete his quota of four overs in nearly nine matches. This highlights the current weaknesses and inexperience in their bowling lineup.

Franchise cricket is all about fans, and if any team continuously starts losing, it will be a matter of huge insult for fans of that franchise. SRH is currently faced with the same threat after trying real hard to build a loyal fan base over the years. Fans are particularly disappointed with how the team couldn't care less even after losing back-to-back matches.

Photos of the team going to the Maldives on vacation during the middle of the tournament and to a pub in Hyderabad went viral for all the wrong reasons, and it had become a matter of great concern for die-hard fans of the team. Sunrisers, which enjoys a huge fan base from the Telugu states, is slowly appearing to be losing them to their rivals today, the Delhi Capitals.

The reason behind such an increase in the Telugu fanbase for the Delhi Capitals is because of the owners—the GMR group. Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao's son handles Delhi Capitals, and he wanted to keep the team close to his father's hometown, Rajam, which is near Vizag. So, Delhi Capitals have chosen to play two games at Vizag every year, and it won't be a surprise if they opt or request to play more matches over there in the coming years.

Because of this Visakhapatnam connection, Delhi Capitals have attracted a lot of Telugu fans, and it won't be an understatement to state that the team enjoys more adulation and love in Vizag than they do while playing at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

With Kavya Maran's Sunrisers losing badly and Delhi Capitals appearing confident and strong with each passing match, Telugu cricket fans are looking at DC as their alternate option to SRH, and if the GMR team makes it big this year, there will be a huge influx of fans for that franchise from both AP and Telangana from next season onward.