The much-talked-about 11th edition of Indian Premier League is just a few days away and ahead of the cash-rich league, here is our take on David Warner-less SunRisers Hyderabad squad.
Biggest shock — David Warner’s exit
In a major blow to SRH, just one-and-half week before the start of biggest cricket league, David Warner has been banned from this year’s IPL in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal.
In IPL 2017, Warner had scored 641 runs in 14 matches with an average of 45 is the proof enough to know how much the team is going to miss him in the upcoming season of IPL. Warner was the primary source in the batting line-up, So SRH is definitely going to miss Dave.
Batting line-up
David Warner’s replacement Alex Hales is expected to open the innings for SRH in IPL 2018 along with Shikhar Dhawan (479 runs in 14 matches in IPL 2017).
Well, given the form Dhawan has been in lately, he is expected to give the wonderful opening to SRH. However, it is too soon to comment about Alex Hales. But if SRH wants to revive their 2016 heroics, Hales will have to play some exceptional innings.
Middle-order
SunRisers Hyderabad have a long batting line-up in their squad. They have Manish Pandey and Kane Williamson at number 3 and 4, respectively, the duo is reliable and one can expect some destructive batting from them.
In the absence of David Warner, Kane Williamson will also has an added responsibility on his shoulder to lead the SRH squad in IPL 2018. GOing by what how had led New Zealand in all formats of the game, he is the perfect person to take the charge of Hyderabad-based franchise.
Apart from Pandey and Kane, there is Wriddhiman Saha who can also give the perfect finish to the game. Saha is also best when it comes to keeping the wickets.
In the lower-middle order, SRH have 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).
Bowling department
SunRisers have one of the best bowling attacks in the Indian Premier League, in the form of star Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who on any day can destroy the strongest batting line up of any team. And then there is teenage Afghanistan sensation Rashid Khan who is among one of the feared bowlers in the shortest format of the game. And if the recent form of Rashid Khan (135 wickets in 91 T20s, averaging 15.14 at under 6 runs an over) is anything to go by, SRH is in for a treat.
Other than, Bhuvi and Rashid, 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) can also play some major roles in few games.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will start their campaign against Rajasthan Royals in their opening game on 9 April 2018.
Trump card
Baroda all-rounder Deepak Hooda (strike rate of over 143 in 79 T20s) and Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan can play some unexpected innings.
Where SRH lack:
There are no big hitters in SRH squad. Though they have players like Yusuf Pathan and Carlos Brathwaite, but their inconsistency is a concern. And now with David Warner’s exit, the void has widenend.
SRH also does not have many players to replace in case one of their opening or any other batsman get injured.
Prediction:
Though SRH are undoubtedly feel the absence of David Warner, the team is expected to make it to the playoffs.
SunRisers Hyderabad Squad: Alex Hales, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shikhar Dhawan, Shakib Al Hasan, Kane Williamson (C), 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