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Can SRH Win the IPL 2023?
The Sunrisers pose a big threat in IPL 2023, a very balanced side with experience mixed in with youth. Opposition bowlers will have to be on their A-games with a potential order of the likes of Markram, Brook, Glen Phillips and powerful domestic batsmen of the likes of Abdul Samad and Washington Sundar.
With the experience of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Natarajan sprinkled with the youth of fast bowlers of Malik and Kartik Tyagi who can both push the speed gun over 90 miles per hour.
The main problem lies potentially in the spin department with Rashid often not being favoured as a spinner and Washington Sundar not being known as a front-line spinner.
Spin has been a big factor at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, with of course Rashid Khan previously they’re big shoes to fill at there are still question marks regarding this.
Sunrisers Hyderabad Squad: IPL 2023
(Overseas players in bold)
Abdul Samad, Umran Malik, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tripathi, Abhishek Sharma, Kartik Tyagi, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Aiden Markram* (South Africa), Marco Jansen (South Africa), Glenn Phillips (New Zealand), Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan), Harry Brook (England), Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klaasen (South Africa), Adil Rashid (England), Mayank Markande, Vivrant Sharma, Samarth Vyas, Sanvir Singh, Upendra Singh Yadav, Mayank Dagar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Anmolpreet Singh
Big names from the auction
Harry Brook has burst onto the international stage in recent months with some eye-catching displays for England varying from Test Matches, ODI's and T20 cricket.
The poster boy for Bazball cricket has seen Brook showcase his wide range of shot options.
He made history by being the leading run-scorer in test cricket after their first nine test innings with tally of 809 runs.
An intense bidding war took place as the base price of Brook started at Rs 1.5 crore and got all the way up to Rs 13.25 ($1.7 million) for the IPL debutant.
Mayank Agarwal had an uncharacteristically poor year last campaign with the Punjab Kings in what was a poor year for the franchise.
A return of just 196 from 12 innings for Agarwal at an average of just 16.33, in contrast to IPL 2021 where the Indian scored 441 runs at an average of 40.09.
Pressure will be on Agarwal, despite the poor season last year he was sold for Rs 8.25 crore ($1 million) so the Sunrisers will be hoping to get their money’s worth.
He will be an important experienced head with there being a wide selection of younger players in the squad.
Heinrich Klaasen is off the back of some superb innings over in the SA20, Klaasen will be travelling over in red hot form and at the price of Rs 5.25 crore ($660,000) could be seen as a real steal.
There will be some debate as to who will play for Hyderabad, with both Klaasen and Phillips able to keep but with the latter being a truly all-round cricketer there is still potential for both players to feature.
Adil Rashid is someone who’s chances in the IPL have always been limited. But consistently for years the leg spinner has been Mr Reliable for England.
With just the one IPL game under the spinners belt he will be expected to hit the ground running.
The Sunrisers last year never filled the giant hole that was left by the departure of Rashid Khan to the Gujarat Titans, the eventual winners of the tournament.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
The main strengths on paper in the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad look as though it will come from the middle order batting department.
With strong overseas batsmen with the likes of Brook, Aiden Markram and Glenn Phillips who will accelerate.
Markram is coming into the IPL in red hot form after steering the Eastern Cape to SA20 glory, he then returned to the South Africa team with scores of 115 and 96 on return to the test setup.
Markram was also an essential part of the Eastern Cape bowling attack picking up key wickets in key moments of games.
The options in the middle order with all-rounders is very strong in the Hyderabad team, with Markram, Washington Sundar and Marco Jansen.
In previous years perhaps this was more of an important role, but with the introduction of the impact player it remains to be seen if all-rounders are going to be as crucial as the auction indicated.
The Sunrisers look as though they have a strong well-balanced bowling side on paper, Umran Malik who impressed massively last season.
Malik picked up 22 wickets in IPL 2022 at an average of 20.18, and bowling in tandem with the likes of swing specialist Bhuvneshwar Kumar gives the Sunrisers options with the new ball.
It’s difficult to see how the Sunrisers Hyderabad will let the standards slip whilst having two of the great bowlers we have seen.
Muttiah Muralitharan and Dale Steyn will help young bowlers such as Malik but also even for experienced players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid will learn things that could take the Sunrisers to glory.
Weaknesses
On the whole the Sunrisers have a side where there aren’t too many clear-cut weaknesses in the side.
One question mark hanging over the side is how they will cope without Kane Williamson, his form dropped off in the recent years but the leadership he carried was huge for the side.
Markram is a more than capable replacement to captain the side as he did it for Eastern Cape in the SA20.
The newly appointed Sunrisers Hyderabad captain will miss the season opener for the team against the Rajasthan Royals due to international obligations for South Africa against the West Indies.
However, to lose such a big character like Williamson in the dressing room is going to be a huge shock for some of the more inexperienced players in the side.
As previously mentioned, the middle order of the Sunrisers is strong, however the fears do come from the top order of the side.
Mayank Agarwal’s form from last season is a concern, with there still being a question as to where Markram is going to bat for the side. However, based on his time at the SA20 he batted four adding another talent to the middle order.
History of Sunrisers Hyderabad
The franchise is owned by Kalanithi Maran of the SUN Group and was founded in 2012 after the Hyderabad-based Deccan Chargers were terminated by the IPL.
2013- 4th out of 9, playoffs
2014- 6th out of 8, league stage
2015- 6th out of 8, league stage
2016- 3rd out of 8, champions
2017- 3rd out of 8, playoffs
2018- 1st out of 8, runners-up
2019- 4th out of 8, playoffs
2020- 3rd out of 8, playoffs
2021- 8th out of 8, league stage
2022- 8th out of 10, league stage
Sunrisers Hyderabad fixtures
02-Apr-23– Sunrisers Hyderabad v Rajasthan Royals – Hyderabad
07-Apr-23– Lucknow Super Giants v Sunrisers Hyderabad – Lucknow
09-Apr-23– Sunrisers Hyderabad v Punjab Kings – Hyderabad
14-Apr-23– Kolkata Knight Riders v Sunrisers Hyderabad – Kolkata
18-Apr-23– Sunrisers Hyderabad v Mumbai Indians – Hyderabad
21-Apr-23– Chennai Super Kings v Sunrisers Hyderabad – Chennai
24-Apr-23– Sunrisers Hyderabad v Delhi Capitals – Hyderabad
29-Apr-23– Delhi Capitals v Sunrisers Hyderabad – Delhi
04-May-23– Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight Riders – Hyderabad
07-May-23– Rajasthan Royals v Sunrisers Hyderabad – Jaipur
13-May-23– Sunrisers Hyderabad v Lucknow Super Giants – Hyderabad
15-May-23– Gujarat Titans v Sunrisers Hyderabad – Ahmedabad
18-May-23– Sunrisers Hyderabad v Royal Challengers Bangalore – Hyderabad
21-May-23– Mumbai Indians v Sunrisers Hyderabad – Mumbai
What did head coach Brian Lara have to say to his squad?
“I've built some really strong relationships I am very easy going anybody can come up and talk to me we have maybe a little bit of a language barrier but don't feel that that is an obstacle if there's an opportunity to come and speak to me and you want to bring somebody along make sure and do that I have an open-door policy I want to hear from you as much as possible.
“In the end of the day I am very much interested in who is giving their best who is mentally focused who is physically fit and ready every single time you go out there right.
“I expect everybody to perform in that way I will move around to the players and ask you one area of your game that you feel you need to work on, don't just work on what you're good at all right work in the areas put serious work into areas that you feel that you need to up the tempo.”
