"Players were not willing to play for the franchise" - Mohammad Nabi reflects on his time with SRH

Afghanistan's veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi believes that many players were not willing to stay with SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) due to certain decisions made by the team management.

Nabi, who joined SRH in 2017 along with Afghan teammate Rashid Khan, stated that the abrupt changes made by the franchise in the last two years have had a negative effect on the team. He pointed out how they made sudden changes to their team combination and support staff.

Speaking to SportsYari on Tuesday, December 27, Nabi said:

"When we [Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan] came to SRH in 2017, and the way we played for the next three years, the team combination and performance were the best. But after that, what happened to the team in the last two years, who did it and why; I don't know. Everything from team combination to coaching staff and environment changed.

Nabi further went on to say that the Hyderabad-based franchise should have considered introducing the changes slowly instead of going for a complete overhaul. He also expressed displeasure over the way SRH treated their top players like Rashid Khan and David Warner.

He added:

A franchise as big as SRH should think about building a team rather than destroying it. They should have looked to build a good team slowly instead of making abrupt changes. They let go of Rashid, who was a brand for them for five years. Not just Rashid but other top players too. They should have not done that. I don't understand what they wanted to do.

Notably, Warner was unceremoniously sacked as captain by SRH after just six matches in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The star batter struggled to make it to the team's starting XI in the subsequent matches of the season.

Warner was released by the SunRisers ahead of the mega auction earlier this year. The Aussie opener was signed by Delhi Capitals (DC) for ₹6.25 crore at the event.

Furthermore, the team also parted ways with Rashid ahead of this year's cash-rich league. The franchise surprisingly did not retain him prior to the mega auction and he was roped in by Gujarat Titans (GT) for ₹15 crores as one of their draft picks.

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SRH is in search of a new captain for IPL 2023

Former captain Kane Williamson was released by SRH ahead of the recently concluded IPL 2023 mini-auction. Under the New Zealander's leadership, the side finished eighth in the points table in the latest season.

They are the only team without a skipper at the moment. Senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar appears to be one of the frontrunners for the post, along with Mayank Agarwal, who they roped in for ₹8.25 core at the mini-auction.

The SunRisers signed a total of 13 players at the event. England's Harry Brook was their most expensive acquisition, for who they shelled out a whopping ₹13.25 crores.

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SunRisers Hyderabad squad for IPL 2023

Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klaasen, Vivrant Sharma, Adil Rashid, Mayank Dagar, Akeal Hosein, Mayank Markande, Upendra Singh Yadav, Samarth Vyas, Sanvir Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Anmolpreet Singh, Abdul Samad, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Glenn Phillips, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Kartik Tyagi, and Umran Malik.