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SRH in IPL 2024: Team preview
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) made a name for themselves after they won the 2016 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team, led by David Warner, beat Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in a thrilling final at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
But since then, the Sunrisers have not had much to cheer for. The last 3 seasons have been equivalent to a nightmare for the Orange Army. In 2021 and 2023, they finished at the bottom of the points table. In the previous 3 editions of the T20 league, SRH won only 13 out of 42 matches, showing how inconstant they have been.
Rishabh Pant declared fit for IPL 2024
For the upcoming season, SRH named Pat Cummins as their skipper. Cummins made a move from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) after joining them back in 2020. In the auction that took place last year, Cummins became the first cricketer in the history of the IPL to have breached the 20-crore mark.
Cummins also became the second-most expensive player in IPL after being bought for a monumental price of INR 20.50 crore. Starc is the most expensive after KKR shelled out INR 24.75 for the left-arm pacer, who is making his comeback after a gap of 8 years.
Cummins played some useful knocks and bowled some jaw-dropping spells for the Knight Riders. It remains to be seen if he can replicate something similar for the Sunrisers.
Apart from Cummins, the Sunrisers also roped in Travis Head, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh and Jhathavedh Subramanyan in the auction last year. They still had a purse of INR 3.2 crore after the auction.
Earlier, SRH let go Harry Brook, Samarth Vyas, Kartik Tyagi, Vivrant Sharma, Akeal Hosein, Adil Rashid.
Full SRH squad for IPL 2024
After the World Cup 2023, the demand for Australian cricketers was palpable in the auction that took place last year. SRH went all out to secure the services of Pat Cummins. They also bought Travis Head for INR 6.80 crore. Head became the Player of the Match in the final of the World Cup where Australia beat India in Ahmedabad.
Apart from Cummins and Head, the Sunrisers also roped in Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga, who made a move from the Knight Riders. Moreover, SRH acquired left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat for a price of INR 1.60 crore.
SRH squad
Glenn Phillips, Upendra Singh Yadav, Heinrich Klaasen, Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Mayank Agarwal, Travis Head, Anmolpreet Singh, Washington Sundar, Abhishek Sharma, Shahbaz Ahmed, Sanvir Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Marco Jansen, Pat Cummins, T. Natarajan, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Jhathavedh Subramanyan.
𝙊𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 is the new 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 & 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲 📸🧡 pic.twitter.com/ha0MOOGVVk
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) March 9, 2024
Strengths
- Heinrich Klaasen’s unreal form
Heinrich Klaasen has been in the form of his life. After performing exceptionally in the World Cup, he scored 447 runs for the Durban’s Super Giants in SA20 2024. With 4 fifties, he played a strike-rate of 20.9.
- Quality all-rounders
The Sunrisers have some world-class all-rounders in their team. Hasaranga, Marco Jansen, Cummins and Sundar can be match-winners on their day.
- Stronger top order
After bringing in Travis Head, the top-order of the Sunrisers look strong. If the likes of Markram and Mayank Agarwal also get going, it would be tough for opponents to stop them.
Weaknesses
- Umran Malik’s indifferent form
Umran Malik burst on to the scene as one of the fastest bowlers in the country. However, he did not have the best times last season. Hence, it will be interesting to see how he steps up.
- Out of form domestic players
The form of domestic cricketers is a big concern for the Sunrisers going into the IPL 2024. Only foreign big names cannot take the Sunrisers to victory
- No captaincy experience for Cummins
Pat Cummins has never led a T20 cricket and does not have any experience of captaining in the shorter format.
SRH Predicted XI
1. Mayank Agarwal
2. Travis Head
3. Rahul Tripathi
4. Aiden Makram
5. Heinrich Klaasen
6. Abdul Samad
7. Pat Cummins
8. Washington Sundar
9. Umran Malik
10. T Natarajan
11. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Impact player options for SRH
If Glenn Phillips does not make it into the playing XI right away, he can definitely be used as an Impact Player by the Sunrisers. While his power-hitting skills are known to all, Phillips has lately flourished as an effective off-break bowler. After doing well with the ball in the World Cup, Phillips recently showed his class in the Test series against Australia.
Since SRH have some of the world’s best, there is a high chance that Hasaranga may also struggle to stay in the playing XI consistently. But if utilized properly, the Sri Lanka T20I skipper can turn out to be more than handy as an Impact Player.
Season prediction
The Sunrisers could not make it through to the playoffs in the last three seasons. And the Orange Army may end up having the same fate. Making Cummins their skipper was a big gamble as the Australian cricketer does not have any experience of leading T20I teams.
Moreover, the pressure of a massive price tag may also weigh Cummins down. Even at KKR, Cummins struggled to chip in with consistent performances. In a tournament as big as the IPL, Cummins will face the heat as he starts his journey as a captain in T20 cricket.
Australia also nominated Mitchell Marsh ahead of Cummins to lead them in the T20 World Cup to be held in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA).
The Sunrisers had another option for captaincy in the form of Aiden Markram, but they went for Cummins. Markram has been stupendous for the Sunrisers franchise in the SA20.
The likes of Umran Malik and T Natarajan once broke into the Indian team on the back of their impressive showing for SRH. If the Sunrisers are to perform well, the pace bowling duo has to be on top of their game.