SunRisers Hyderabad head coach Daniel Vettori has revealed that explosive opener Travis Head wasn't able to travel to India due to having COVID, meaning he could miss the IPL 2025 game against the Lucknow Super Giants on Monday. Vettori stated that Head will reach India on Monday morning and will be assessed after that.
Unlike the 2024 edition when the left-handed batter hammered over 500 runs in SunRisers' run to the playoffs, Head has struggled to produce consistently high scores this year. In 10 innings, the South Australian has managed only 281 runs at 28.10 with two half-centuries alongside a strike rate of 156.11.
Speaking at the pre-game presser, Vettori said, as quoted by The Hindustan Times:
"Travis is coming in tomorrow morning, he was delayed. He actually had COVID, so he couldn’t travel, so he’ll get in tomorrow morning and we’ll assess how he is after that."
SunRisers Hyderabad out of playoff contention in IPL 2025
Meanwhile, the SunRisers are one of the four teams along with Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals to be officially eliminated out of playoff race.
While the SunRisers are out of IPL 2025 playoff race, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are narrowly alive to make it to the top four as the two sides face off at the Ekana International Stadium. The Super Giants had defeated the SunRisers earlier in the playoffs and will hope to replicate the same on May 19, Monday.
The Super Giants last played against the Punjab Kings in Dharamsala where the former conceded 236 in their stipulated 20 overs to eventually lose by 37 runs. With the Super Giants losing six games out of 11 and other teams also on the rise, their playoff hopes look bleak. Focus will once again turn to Rishabh Pant, who has had a horror season, especially with the bat after bagging ₹27 crore.
