Sunrisers Hyderabad, with the likes of Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner, have enough in their tank to surprise a few teams in the tournament. Undoubtedly, they are one of the most aggressive T20 teams on paper, but the focus right now is to get a good start in the eighth season of the Indian Premier League.
Owned by Sun TV Network, Sunrisers are up and ready for the kick-off. The team’s think tank, including Tom Moody (Head Coach), Anil Kumble and Muttiah Muralitharan (bowling Coach) have retained most of their players from the previous seasons. However, the focus of the team was still to put up an aggressive statement by the end of the players’ auction.
Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan and Trent Boult are among the latest acquisitions of the Sunrisers. Charismatic former England player Pietersen was picked for a nominal base price of Rs. 2 crore, whereas New Zealand’s dependable batsman Kane Williamson was acquired for Rs. 60 lakh. Kiwi speedster Boult was roped in for a whopping Rs. 3.8 crore, the fifth costliest buy of the auction.
Recently, Sunrisers confirmed a major modification in the squad by announcing David Warner as the captain of the team. The squad has illustrated its strengths in the previous two seasons of the league. Consequently, they haven’t been reliable upon the trust bank of expectations.
Here’s an analysis of the newly designated squad:
Strengths
Aggressive batting line-up until No. 5 is the biggest advantage Sunrisers have over other teams. Warner, Shikhar Dhawan and Pietersen form an explosive top order that a team can have. Players like Lokesh Rahul and Kane Williamson can give the middle-order a lot of solidarity that the team can fall back on if they get off to a poor start.
Weaknesses
Excessive dependency on foreign players is the team’s weak spot. The squad mainly consists of players from New Zealand, and the upcoming New Zealand vs England series in the middle of the IPL can weaken the side considerably. The bitter truth is that Williamson and Boult will not be available towards the end of the tournament as it coincides with New Zealand’s tour of England.
Star Players
Shikhar Dhawan: The mention of Dhawan brings to mind a flamboyant personality with twirled moustache but the Delhi batsman is much more than that. His batting is even more thunderous. Dhawan got his lost touch back in the recently concluded World Cup and will look to continue from there for his IPL team.
David Warner: An explosive opening batsman, Warner can take the game away in a whisker. His past performance in IPL leaves him primed to change Hyderabad’s fortunes in the league. Handing over the captaincy reigns to Warner can also be termed as an aggressive plot on behalf of the team management.
Dale Steyn: South Africa’s premium pacer Dale Steyn is another parcel of aggression in the sack of Sunrisers. Armed with lethal pace and ever so accurate line and length, he can pester the opposition batsmen from the very first ball. He gives Sunrisers that extra edge to their bowling that makes them stand out among the rest.
Past Performances
Previously known as the Deccan Chargers, the Sunrisers Hyderabad made a remarkable debut in the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League in the year 2013. The team played 16 matches out of which they won 10. They finished 4th in standings with an admirable 20 points. In the previous edition, they played 14 matches out of which they won 6. They came 6th with 12 points on the chart.
Chances This Year
After showcasing remarkable performances in their first season, the team will aim to do considerably better following a lacklustre show last season. Led by Warner, the Hyderabad franchise would be visualizing their chances of triumph in the eighth season of IPL.
X-Factor
Shikhar Dhawan: After a brilliant run in the World Cup, Dhawan would be looking to make his mark in the slam-bang format. The elegant left-hander can take his team off to a flier and in known conditions, he can turn the tables on opponents in no time. The burden of captaincy is not there anymore this season and that can only go on to take the pressure off from the Indian opener. A free-flowing Dhawan can be a difficult player to contain and has the ability to exploit any chinks in the opponent new ball bowlers.
Squad: Shikhar Dhawan, Dale Steyn, David Warner (C), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Moises Henriques, Lokesh Rahul, Parvez Rasool, Naman Ojha (wk), Ashish Reddy, Ricky Bhui, Chama Milind, Karn Sharma, Kane Williamson, Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Trent Boult, Praveen Kumar, Hanuman Vihari, Prasanth Padmanabhan, Siddarth Kaul.
