IPL 2020: Sunrisers Hyderabad Squad Analysis, Strengths, Weakness and Season Prediction

Over the last few years, Sunrisers Hyderabad have grown to be one of the most consistent sides in Indian Premier League. They won the tournament in 2016, beating RCB in the final. Since then, they’ve made it to the top four every season, and even finished second in 2018. This year, too, Hyderabad will be looking to maintain their consistent run.

Like most teams that get to the top and stay there, SRH too have realised the importance of keeping a ‘core’ intact. That core has only gone from strength to strength, with the likes of David Warner, Kane Williamson, Rashid Khan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar establishing themselves in the set up. Add the Manish Pandeys and Jonny Bairstows, and SRH have a team to beat.

Strengths

There’s a change in captain this year with David Warner taking over from Kane Williamson, as the latter isn’t guaranteed a place in the XI for all matches. That shows the strength of the foreigners in Hyderabad’s line up, with Warner, Bairstow and Rashid Khan guaranteed starters. The fourth foreigners slot is likely to float around, depending on conditions/form.

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The biggest strength for SRH is the opening pair of Warner and Bairstow. The duo shattered multiple records last season, even putting on the highest opening partnership in IPL history, against RCB in Hyderabad. The other big strength is the spin sensation Rashid Khan, who, along with Mohammad Nabi, knows the UAE conditions in and out.

Weakness

But who after Warner and Bairstow? SRH need depth in the batting order but that’s not there, especially if Williamson isn’t a starter. The middle order is heavily reliant on Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar, who have blown hot and cold in the last two seasons. SRH did get young talent like Virat Singh, Priyam Garg and the hard hitting Abdul Samad in the auction, but how will they fare in their first IPL is yet to be seen. They could perhaps look to slot in the experienced Wriddhiman Saha at No. 3 to add depth to the side.

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SRH have a pace heavy attack with Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, T Natarajan and Basil Thampi in the ranks along with Bhuvneshwar, Khaleel and Billy Stanlake. With the tournament moving to slow and low pitches in UAE, though, the pace depth might not be in use. They would have loved to have Shakib Al Hasan here, but he’s out due to the ban.

IPL 2019 Performance

SRH finished fourth in the points table, before losing to Delhi Capitals in the Eliminator.

Most Notable Purchase at Auction

SRH had a rather quiet auction but added some Indian batting depth in the form of Virat Singh, Priyam Garg and Abdul Samad. They also got all-rounder Mitchell Marsh for Rs 2 crore. Fabien Allen, who was purchased for Rs 50 lakh, will be one to watch out for given his hitting abilities in the lower order along with left-arm spin.

History in IPL

SRH came into IPL in 2013, won the tournament in 2016 and finished second in 2018.

Chances/Prediction in IPL 2020

The lack of depth in batting beyond the openers is a dampener, although they have one of the best T20 spinners in Rashid. If Rashid, Warner and Bairstow fire, SRH should finish in the top four. If not, we predict a mid-table finish.

Squad:

David Warner (c), Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Billy Stanlake, T Natarajan, Abhishek Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mitchell Marsh, Fabian Allen, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Sanjay Yadav, Jonny Bairstow, Wriddhiman Saha, Shreevats Goswami, Bavanaka Sandeep, Basil Thampi