IPL Auction 2020: 3 biggest buys for Sunrisers Hyderabad

The 2020 IPL Auction was held on Friday and as usual a lot of star players bagged mammoth contracts, while some also ended up surprisingly unsold.

Looking back at the auction now, 2016 Indian Premier League champions Sunrisers Hyderabad had a somewhat underwhelming day, with the team mainly focusing on young Indian batsmen.

With Rs. 17 crore available and seven slots to bid for, SRH picked Mitchell Marsh (Rs. 2 crore) and Fabian Allen (Rs. 50 lakh) as their two overseas players. India U-19 captain Priyam Garg (Rs. 1.9 crore), Jharkhand's Virat Singh (Rs. 1.9 crore), Bavanaka Sandeep (Rs. 20 lakh), Sanjay Yadav (Rs. 20 lakh) and Abdul Samad (Rs. 20 lakh) were the local uncapped player picks for SRH.

From these picks, it is evident that SRH went into the auction with the aim of solving their middle-order woes while also looking to build a team for the future. When the overseas players are taken out of the picture, both the new additions and already retained players give a youthful look to SRH's Indian contingent.

While SRH's rich coaching panel comprising of the likes of VVS Laxman and Muttiah Muralitharan might have wanted to utilise more of the purse to maybe buy a wicket-taking foreign fast bowler, they would still be reasonably satisfied with the choices considering that they now have a lot of talent to work with.

So given that the auction has just ended, it would be apt to look at the top three buys for SRH who could potentially come up with some scintillating performances next year.

#1 Virat Singh

Virat Singh (on the left)

His namesake who is also the Indian captain might be far more popular, but watch out for Virat Singh. The young Jharkhand batsman would be looking to try and become yet another famous cricketer from the state which has produced one of India's most beloved players in the form of MS Dhoni.

Virat Singh is a left-handed batsman who boasts the kind of skill-set that SRH have been longing for since a while.

Virat made his senior-level debut for Jharkhand at the tender age of 16 during the 2014-15 season. Given he was so young at that point, he had the habit of impressing in patches followed by a string of low scores. But as time has gone by, Virat has added consistency to his eye-catchy strokeplay - which has been evident in the ongoing 2019-20 domestic season.

After having a superb Vijay Hazare Trophy where he made 335 runs, the southpaw continued his good form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. It was perhaps his big-hitting efforts in the domestic T20 competition that made heads turn towards him and eventually led to SRH picking him in the auction.

In that tournament, Virat made quite an impression against Karnataka (76 off 44 balls), with his ability to clear the ropes against the spinners being the standout feature. Although Virat's T20 career strike-rate is only 124.45, one should remember that he has started to bat with clarity and freedom only recently.

With SRH looking for local middle-order batsmen, Virat might get a lot of opportunities to play next year.

#2 Mitchell Marsh

Mitchell Marsh

We wanted to pick one foreign player between Mitchell Marsh and Fabian Allen, and the former just edged it.

Marsh shouldn't be a stranger to Indian fans in any way as he has played enough international cricket apart from featuring for a number of IPL franchises like Deccan Chargers, Pune Warriors India and Rising Pune Supergiant.

Although he has been quite mediocre with the bat in his 20 IPL matches, Marsh has done a superb job with the ball - both in terms of wickets and economy rate. Given that Marsh will be a fifth bowling option for most teams, his economy rate of 7.89 isn't too bad.

Also, if he plays, Marsh's primary task will be to solidify a brittle SRH middle-order. The 28-year-old has the ability to both rebuild and take the aggressive route if required. This is pivotal for SRH, as they have often been labelled a top-heavy batting unit.

That said, Marsh might not get a lot of chances due to the presence of David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Kane Williamson and Rashid Khan. But if someone is injured or badly out of form, Marsh wouldn't be the worst back-up option to have on the bench.

#3 Priyam Garg

Priyam Garg

One of the most exciting youngsters in India at the moment, India U-19 captain Priyam Garg getting a chance in the Indian Premier League is perhaps the least surprising aspects of the 2020 auction.

Seemingly born with incredible maturity and cricketing intelligence, it is no secret that Garg will be leading the Indian team at the U19 World Cup in January. His nous to bat a few yards out of the crease in order to cover for Bhuvneshwar Kumar's lethal swing is already a popular story now, and more of such Garg tales will continue to emerge if he keeps performing.

That the 19-year-old from Uttar Pradesh failed to make the cut for the 2018 U19 World Cup would have come as a huge setback, but Garg has only taken that as a stepping stone for future success.

After being noticed and brought into the current U19 set-up by former coach and legendary batsman Rahul Dravid, Garg kicked off his domestic career in stunning fashion by registering a double century on debut against Goa. Eventually he ended the season with 814 runs, and since then he has continued to impress in other formats.

Earlier in November, Garg built on his reputation further by compiling a superb counter-attacking 74 off 77 balls - when more established stars like Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Suryakumar Yadav and Dinesh Karthik failed.

It is his talent to pick out his moments and execute a balanced middle-overs game that makes Garg an invaluable pick for SRH and also a future asset for the Indian team. The UP youngster possesses superb technique, and is lethal against spinners. Boundaries are a dominant part of his game, but he never sacrifices rotation of the strike.