Picture Credit: IPL/BCCI
Sunrisers Hyderabad has been one of the most exciting franchises in the history of IPL. They are not always the strongest on paper but they never fail to deliver results on the field. They have been one of the most consistent teams in recent years, qualifying for playoffs in all the seasons for last 5 years. David Warner's side lifted their maiden title in 2016. The franchise also went on to finish as runners-up in 2018 under the leadership of Kane Williamson.
SRH is certainly going to be a side to watch out for this season. They had the most-settled squad among all the teams and did not have to do any major chopping and changing ahead of 2021 season. With few of their injured players from last season also available, the Hyderabad-based franchise is going to be a force to reckon with in the 14th edition of the mega-tournament.
Looking back at IPL 2020
It was a pretty impressive campaign for Sunrisers Hyderabad in UAE. While they were struggling mid-way through the season, David Warner's side showed utmost courage and resilience to bounce back in the tournament. They won their last 3 league matches to finish 3rd in the standings, with 14 points. The franchise continued their winning momentum as they ousted Royal Challengers Bangalore in the eliminator.
However, SRH's dream run came to an end just one step away from the grand finale. They lost out to Delhi Capitals in the second qualifier which culminated their campaign. There were certainly a lot of positives for the franchise in 2020. The emergence of youngsters like Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, T Natarajan last season is something that SRH can really look forward to in 2021.
Batting Order
Sunrisers Hyderabad has one of the most balanced batting line-ups among all the teams. While there is explosiveness of David Warner, there is also the calmness of Kane Williamson. In the middle-order, the experience of Manish Pandey is well-supported by the youth of Priyam Garg and Abdul Samad. Where Jonny Bairstow can anchor the innings with a big knock, Mitchell Marsh can change the course of the match within a few deliveries.
Although the services of explosive Mohammad Nabi remained unused last year, he could play a vital role this year. Wriddhiman Saha, who turned out to be the X-Factor for the franchise in the business end of IPL 2020, could also be a key player for them in 2021. Along with him, SRH also has some exciting domestic talents like Abhishek Sharma, Virat Singh and Shreetvats Goswami in their side. They have also added experienced cricketer Kedar Jadhav to give them more depth in the middle-order.
Bowling Attack
The franchise has a lethal bowling attack led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. They have a lot of variety in their bowling with two left-arm pacers in the form of Khaleel Ahmed and T Natarajan. Sandeep Sharma can swing the bowl up front, while Siddarth Kaul and Basil Thambi have raw pace and can bowl in death overs.
Jason Holder and Mitchell Marsh are two overseas all-rounders who can chip in with a few crucial wickets for SRH in 2021. Talking about spinners, they have the world's best T20 bowler in Rashid Khan. While they also have Mohammad Nabi, Abdul Samad and Shahbaz Nadeem, they have added another Afghani spinner Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman to complete a formidable bowling attack.
Leadership group
Sunrisers Hyderabad has a charismatic leader in the form of David Warner, who led them to their maiden IPL title in 2016. The Aussie will be well-supported by Kane Williamson and Jonny Bairstow in the leadership group. Manish Pandey, who leads Karnataka in domestic cricket, could also play an important role in team decisions.
Talking about the coaching staff, SRH has a world-cup winning coach Trevor Bayliss. With names like VVS Laxman, Brad Haddin and Muttiah Muralitharan in the staff, the camp has all the right guys working behind the scenes. Tom Moody has also joined the franchise as Director of cricket for the upcoming season, much to the delight of all SRH fans.
Marquee Players:
David Warner: Matches – 142 | Runs – 5254 | SR – 141.5 | Avg – 42.7
Kane Williamson: Matches – 53 | Runs – 1619 | SR – 134.8 | Avg – 39.5
Rashid Khan: Matches – 62 | Wickets – 75 | ER – 6.24 | Best – 3/7
Bhuvneshwar Kumar: Matches – 121 | Wickets – 136 | ER – 7.23 | Best – 5/19
Players to watch out for:
Manish Pandey: Matches – 146| Runs – 3268 | SR – 121.7 | Avg – 29.7
Jonny Bairstow: Matches – 21 | Runs – 790 | SR – 142.3 | Avg - 41.6
Mitchell Marsh: Matches – 21 | Runs – 225 | SR – 114.2 | Wickets – 20
T Natarajan: Matches – 22 | Wickets – 18 | ER – 8.19 | Best - 2/24
Full Sunrisers Hyderabad squad for IPL 2021:
David Warner (c), Abhishek Sharma, Basil Thampi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Shreevats Goswami, Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, T Natarajan, Vijay Shankar, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Mitchell Marsh, Jason Holder, Abdul Samad, Kedar Jadhav, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Jagadeesha Suchith.