IPL 2018, Match 4: Sunrisers Hyderabad's Predicted XI to face Rajasthan Royals

#9 Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan is the #1 ranked bowler in T20 cricket

IPL stats: 14 matches, 17 wickets, Avg 21.06

Rashid Khan became the youngest ever player to top the ICC rankings across all formats, surpassing the records set by former great players such as Sachin Tendulkar and Saqlain Mushtaq. He then successfully led Afghanistan towards qualification to the 2019 World Cup as their captain. He’s only 19, but he is already one of the best. The second player from Afghanistan to make this lineup, he had an impressive IPL, with 17 wickets in 14 games at an economy rate of 6.62. What more could the #1 T20 bowler do in this IPL season?

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#10 Siddarth Kaul

Siddarth Kaul is expensive, but he will get you wickets

IPL stats: 21 matches, 22 wickets, Avg 27.09

Kaul was superb for Sunrisers last year, as he bagged 16 wickets to firmly support Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan in bowling last year. His economy rate (8.41 last season) is an issue but the rate at which he takes wickets offsets that and will be rewarded with a starting berth in the 11.

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#11 Basil Thampi

Basil Thampi is cheap, and he's good!

IPL stats: 12 matches, 11 wickets, Avg 38.55

The Emerging Player of IPL 2017, Basil Thampi gets the final spot in our predicted starting 11 for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Bought for a fee of just INR 95 lakh, he has the potential to be called the bargain buy at the end of the season. Earlier on, we selected him as one of the uncapped players to look at for your Fantasy teams. Sunrisers would look to establish him earlier on in the season, to see if he could fit in nicely, before looking at other options as replacements.

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Final Predicted Lineup: Kane Williamson, Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Wriddhiman Saha, Deepak Hooda, Mohammad Nabi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, Siddarth Kaul, Basil Thampi