The most celebrated leagues in India, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to start from March 23. The 12th edition of the tournament will see the defending champion Chennai Super Kings take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening game in Chennai.
The runners-up of the last season, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) is one of the strongest teams in the IPL. They are comparatively new teams in the IPL who made their debut in the IPL in 2013. Last three seasons went pretty good for the franchise as they won the IPL title in 2016, qualified for playoffs in the next year and last year they were the runners-up.
However, the franchise will try to continue their formidable form and win their second IPL title in the upcoming season. Let’s have a look at their strong and weak links this year:
Strong points:
Batting:
One of the dominant teams in the IPL, SRH have a strong batting and bowling unit. They have been consistent from the beginning. Except for 2014 and 2015, they have always qualified for the playoffs. In 2016, they won their first title under David Warner’s captaincy and last year they were runners-up under Kane Williamson’s captaincy.
Their batting comprised of David Warner, Kane Williamson, Wriddhiman Saha, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Deepak Hooda, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammed Nabi etc. With Warner’s return, he will open the innings with Saha, in absence of Shikhar Dhawan. One down will be last year's captain, Kane Williamson who had a stupendous season last year. He won the Orange Cap with 735 runs at an average of over 52.
No.4 will be Manish Pandey, who didn’t have a great outing last year as he scored 284 runs in 15 innings. But currently he has been in a great form and Karnataka won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy under his leadership. He will surely try to continue his form.
Along with them, the middle order will see Yusuf Pathan who is still destructive in his own day and knows how to utilise the chance. Apart from him, there are Deepak Hooda and Shakib Al Hasan; who is a spin bowling all-rounder. With all their presence, SRH is a strong batting unit.
Bowling:
Along with the batting unit, their bowling attack is also one of the best. It says that if you want to win the T20 game, you have to have a strong bowling line up and SRH is no different.
Their bowling unit comprised of Rashid Khan, Indian pacer, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shahbaz Nadeem, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma, Basil Thampi and last but not the least, Shakib Al Hasan.
Their trump card is none other than Rashid Khan, who has been in a great form for the last couple of years not only in IPL but also for his team Afghanistan. Along with him, there is Bhuvneshwar Kumar, one of the main pace attack of India. He had performed well in the last season.
Apart from them, there is Shahbaz Nadeem whose leg-spin can trouble the batsmen around the world. Nadeem had a wonderful season in the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well. The other one is Siddarth Kaul; who led the pace attack in the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the last season. His stunning performance helped him to get a maiden call-up in the national team.
However, it is expected that Vijay Shankar could get a chance this year as his all-round ability is no less than impressive. He is surely an asset of the team who can turn the table anytime.
With these strong batting and bowling line-up, they are one of the strongest contenders of the IPL title.
Weak points:
Middle and lower middle order:
Probably one of the balanced teams in the IPL season is SRH. However, there is as such no weak links available apart from a slight weakness in the middle order.
Though Manish Pandey has been in a good form, he could not live up to the expectations last year. However, the team have shown faith on him and retained for this season also. His form can be a concern for the team.
Along with him, Deepak Hooda too was inconsistent. With Vijay Shankar’s presence, the middle order will get some strength as well.
Key players:
David Warner
The left-hand batsman of Australia, David Warner will return in the IPL after the ball-tampering scandal last year. During his ban from international cricket, he has played some T20 leagues like Global T20 Canada, Caribbean Premier League, and Bangladesh Premier league etc. This devastating opener has amassed 4014 runs from 114 innings at an average of 40.55 with the strike rate of 142.14 where the highest score is 126. He has smashed 36 fifties and 3 centuries in his IPL career so far. His return will give extra strength in SRH's batting line up.
Kane Williamson
The other batsman who is as devastating as Warner is, the Kiwi captain, Kane Williamson. Last year he led the team in Warner’s absence. Along with the captaincy, he was the Orange Cap holder as well for his 735 runs from 17 matches at an average of 52.50 with a strike-rate of 142.44 where 84 being his highest score.
He has scored 1146 runs from 32 matches at an average of 42.44 and a strike rate of 137.41 with 11 fifties in his IPL career so far. Being in an astonishing form, Williamson will try to keep the momentum on.
Rashid Khan
One of the most crucial players of SRH is Rashid Khan. He is captain’s go-to bowler and has the ability to pick wickets in the most crucial time. He is one of the most dependable players for the side who can turn the ball both ways brilliantly. His bowling can trouble any batters. However, he is a handy batsman too who can contribute in the lower middle order as well. With his all-round ability, he is certainly one of the key players for the side.
Probable playing XI
David Warner, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Vijay Shankar, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma