IPL 2019: Can the Sunrisers Hyderabad Rise to the Occasion?

The Sunrisers Hyderabad are the only team who are not part of the founding teams. In essence, they are the youngest IPL team in history. IPL 2019 is actually their seventh year in the sport, compared to 12 for their contemporaries.

Team Profile

Like the phoenix in their logo, they arose from the ashes of the Deccan Chargers team. The Chargers, 2009 champions, went bankrupt and were forced to pull out of the cash-rich league. They debuted in 2013 and retained most of the players of the Deccan Chargers.

In 2016, Sunrisers managed to go the distance and clinch their maiden title against all odds. They defeated the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final and ended the year with 11 wins and six losses under their belt.

In 2017, they lost to the Kolkata Knight Riders in the eliminator in a rain-affected match. A year later, SRH were hobbled when David Warner got involved in a ball-tampering scandal and was subsequently banned.

With Kane Williamson leading the side and Alex Hales as Warner’s replacement, the Sunrisers still remained serious contenders. In fact, they were the runners-up in 2018, losing to Chennai Super Kings in the final.

Background and History

As mentioned before, the Sunrisers emerged in the wake of Deccan Chargers’ exit after bankruptcy. In essence, the team are generally considered the underdogs in the cash-rich league.

This year, they don’t even have a top Indian player captaining the side. In their maiden season, SRH was helmed by Kumar Sangakkara for a few matches before Cameron White took over from him for the remainder of the year.

A year later, when Pune Warriors India folded, Pune got more money in their purse for the auction. This job was made easier when they retained Dale Steyn and Shikhar Dhawan. SRH ended the season in 6th place.

In 2016, after more chopping and changing, it seemed that Sunrisers Hyderabad found the perfect combination. This was because they finally managed to win the title, their only one till date.

For IPL 2017, the Hyderabad team ended up 3rd in the standings but were eliminated in the playoffs. Their opponents at the time were the Kolkata Knight Riders, who later finished 3rd.

Last year, despite the loss of David Warner due to a ball tampering scandal, SRH were just fine without him. In fact, they ended the year as runners up to champions CSK, who had just returned from their ban.

Transfers

With regard to transfers, Shikhar Dhawan leaves the team for Delhi Capitals. To compensate for his loss, SRH acquired Vijay Shankar, Shahbaz Nadeem and Abhishek Sharma.

Key Players

The Sunrisers Hyderabad will be relying on the likes of David Warner, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. These players have been the star performers before and will surely continue their form. Sharma previously played for Kings XI Punjab and has delivered for them on occasion.

Availability

The Sunrisers won’t be missing many players as most series normally takes place after the IPL. However, there may be a cloud of doubt surrounding Jonny Bairstow as England face Ireland and later, Pakistan. However, Kane Williamson suffered a shoulder injury during the Bangladesh test.

In his absence, vice-captain, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will lead the side against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The Sunrisers Hyderabad arguably boasts of one of the most complete squads in IPL 2019. They can shore up their offence with either Bairstow or Williamson to partner Warner in the top three. On the bowling front, they have the option of deploying Nabi and Al Hasan with Shankar.

Billy Stanlake can also form up with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Siddarth Kaul. The best part is that they can experiment as much as they want without affecting team balance.

Pandey, Hooda and Pathan can win matches single-handedly when on song. However, consistency is the key for these players. With Vijay Shankar added to the squad along with foreign all-rounders Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Nabi, the middle order is a lot stronger in IPL 2019.

However, one thing that can potentially hurt the Sunrisers Hyderabad is injury and poor form. David Warner is just returning back from suspension following his involvement in a ball-tampering scandal. Williamson has picked up a shoulder injury during the Bangladesh Test. Even Shakib Al Hasan and Abhishek Sharma are coming back?from injury though they have been cleared. Yusuf Pathan, Deepak Hooda and Wriddhiman Saha are out of form.

This will be Bairstow’s IPL debut so the pressure will be on him to perform for SRH. Martin Guptill is an unknown entity as he is inconsistent in the IPL. Another worry is on vice captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the number of games he will play in IPL 2019. This is because the Indian team management are closely monitoring his workload before the World Cup.

The 29-year old will be a crucial cog for the upcoming 2019 World Cup after IPL 2019. Kumar and other Indian players cannot afford to pick up any injury ahead of the World Cup. Even the foreign players will be watching themselves any monitoring their health very very carefully.

Squad and Expected 11

Full Squad:?David Warner, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Nabi, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Basil Thampi, Khaleel Ahmed, Siddarth Kaul, Deepak Hooda, Ricky Bhui, Shreevats Goswami, Jonny Bairstow, Martin Guptill, Shahbaz Nadeem, Sandeep Sharma, Billy Stanlake, T Natarajan.

Expected 11: David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Wriddhiman Saha, Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Yusuf Pathan, Abhishek Sharma, Deepak Hooda, Shakib Al Hasan, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma