IPL 2018: Sunrisers Hyderabad squad analysis

The Sunrisers Hyderabad have more boxes ticked than otherwise ahead of the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League. The side looks extremely balanced and have all that it takes to repeat their heroics of the 2016 season when they won the IPL under David Warner’s captaincy.

The franchise retained the services of captain David Warner and the leading wicket-taker of previous two editions of the league, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan, who has been in breathtaking form recently, was retained using the Right to Match (RTM).

The others who were retained via RTM include Afghan spinner Rashid Khan and the all-rounder Deepak Hooda. To add to this wonderful bunch of players, the franchise brought back Kane Williamson who will certainly add more gravity to the middle order.

As if a tradition, the squad is yet again built around its bowling unit which has other than Bhuvi, the likes of Siddharth Kaul (16 wickets in 10 matches in IPL 2017), Sandeep Sharma (17 wickets in 13 matches in IPL 2017) and Basil Thampi (11 wickets in 12 matches in IPL 2017). Not to forget the all-rounders who will bring so much more balance to the side.

Their already good looking batting unit will also feature Manish Pandey (396 runs in 14 matches for KKR in IPL 2017) as he will find himself a place in the top order. Pandey was the franchise’s biggest purchase for Rs. 11 crore.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad take on the Rajasthan Royals in their opening game of the league on 9 April 2018.

Squad: David Warner (C), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shikhar Dhawan, Shakib Al Hasan, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Carlos Brathwaite, Yusuf Pathan, Wriddhiman Saha, Rashid Khan, Ricky Bhui, Deepak Hooda, Siddharth Kaul, T Natarajan, Mohammed Nabi, Basil Thampi, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Sachin Baby, Chris Jordan, Billy Stanlake, Tanmay Agarwal, Sreevats Goswami, Bipul Sharma, Mehedi Hasan

Batting

Pocket size dynamo Warner has performed consistently for the franchise

Skipper David Warner (641 runs in 14 matches in IPL 2017) is the primary source of attack in the batting unit and when he bats through the innings after coming in to open, Hyderabad end up scoring the desirable amount of runs.

Along with him India’s Shikhar Dhawan (479 runs in 14 matches in IPL 2017) will open the innings. Given the form that Dhawan has been in lately, the left-handed duo will make for a wonderful opening pair at the top and the SRH will hope for a lot of runs from these two.

At No. 3 and 4, Manish Pandey and Kane Williamson respectively will find themselves in the middle and are reliable batsmen in the T20 format. Pandey is a good addition in the top order and is an excellent fielder as well.

Williamson, who is often said to be one of the best in the world silently goes about his job. And with Williamson around, the game is not yet over for the opponent team.

Apart from them, SRH has Wriddhiman Saha (famous for his hundred in the finals of IPL 2014) who can play a few cameos later in the innings and is one of the best when it comes to sheer wicket-keeping abilities.

The likes of Shreevats Goswami (average of 39.77 in List A career), Tanmay Agarwal (averaging 38.61 in List A career), Sachin Baby (averaging 39.80 in List A career) will be fighting for a place in the team as the proven match-winning all-rounders may be preferred over these emerging talents.

The inconsistency of big hitters in the batting order like Yusuf Pathan and Carlos Brathwaite seems to be the only area of concern. Also, if one of the starting batmen is injured or not available for selection, the bench does not boast of a suitable replacement in the batting unit.

All-rounders

Shakib Al Hasan and Carlos Braithwaite are the top all-rounders in the squad

An interesting bunch of players fall in this section for the Hyderabad team. West Indian Carlos Brathwaite and Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan along with Mohammad Nabi form the overseas all-rounder options. However, only one among them may get to feature in the playing 11.

Shakib Al Hasan might just get the nod as he will guarantee four overs of spin along with useful contributions with the bat. In a slightly pace-heavy attack, Shakib’s spin can be a useful addition. The final call may well be taken depending on the playing conditions.

Besides them, the Baroda all-rounder Deepak Hooda (strike rate of over 143 in 79 T20s), who was in good nick in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy, can make a difference as well. Yusuf Pathan’s (IPL career batting strike rate of 145.49) destructive hitting and maybe a few overs to compliment his batting will help the Sunrisers feel confident about themselves, in case a bowler has a bad day.

Bowling

Bhuvi will spearhead the SRH pace attack

Much like KKR, the team has a superb seam bowling unit. However, the emphasis in the SRH squad is on domestic talents which makes it even more effective as there will be little selection problems. Bhuvneshwar Kumar will lead the attack and will look to start in the same rhythm as he had been bowling throughout the last couple of seasons.

Siddarth Kaul, Basil Thampi, and Sandeep Sharma make for a good looking pace attack and in case this isn’t enough there is Chris Jordan in the scheme of things as well.

Australia's Billy Stanlake will also don the orange jersey and will look to claim a place in the first 11, after his stint in the Big Bash League.

In the spin department, Rashid Khan (135 wickets in 91 T20s, averaging 15.14 at under 6 runs an over) is sure to get a place and will lead the attack. From the domestic scene, T Natarajan (27 wickets in 9 First Class Matches) can be a big boost.