Another brand new season of Indian Premier League (IPL) is round the corner and the buzz has already started. The 13th season will take place in the UAE starting from September 19. BCCI had to move out the tournament out of India owing to rise in COVID-19 cases in the country.
The teams will leave for UAE after August 20 and will have almost one month to prepare for the mega event. The 2016 IPL champions will be one of the teams to keep an eye on. They missed out on the last editions but Sunrisers are one of the most consistent teams around.
The side led by David Warner has some quality players in their ranks. While they retained the core group of players, Hyderabad have added some talented bunch of cricketers to strengthen their team.
Let’s take a look at the top 3 new picks to watch out for in Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2020:
Virat Singh
When your name is Virat, you will automatically get noticed. Jharkhand’s very own left-handed Virat Singh is making the headlines and for all the right reasons.
Having made his domestic debut at the age of 18, Virat has become one of Jharkhand’s batting mainstays. He is a natural stroke-maker and boasts some serious T20 records.
The 22-year-old was in spectacular form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year. His 32-ball 56* against Gujarat and 44-ball 76* against Karnataka made him a hot property during the auctions.
The southpaw finished with 343 runs, including three fifties, at an average of 57.16 including 16 sixes. IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad bagged his services for Rs 1.9 crore for the upcoming season.
A diehard fan of former India skipper MS Dhoni, Virat possesses all the capabilities to be the poster boy of Jharkhand cricket. Despite SRH having some devastating batsmen in their ranks, Virat deserves a chance at some point to announce himself on the biggest platform.
Priyam Garg
Sanjay Rastogi, a local coach in Meerut, had identified the outstanding talent of a 15-year-old young boy who stood outside the crease against international fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar. That boy is none other than Priyam Garg, who has led India to the U19 World Cup final against Bangladesh.
Garg was fast-tracked into Uttar Pradesh’s Ranji Trophy squad on the back of his exploits at the KSCA Invitational tournament in Bengaluru in 2018. He announced his arrival in the domestic circuit with a century against Goa and finished with 814 runs in 10 matches at an average of 67.83. The 19-year-old also boasts a good strike-rate of above 130 in T20s.
While he has limited T20 experience, Garg has the temperament to adjust to different situations. Amidst some heavyweight names in the batting order, the young batting prodigy will hope for an opportunity in the middle-order – especially with Vijay Shankar not at his best.
Mitchell Marsh
Sunrisers Hyderabad strengthened their middle-order adding veteran Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh in their ranks. Marsh will bring tons of experience to the table and has experience of playing in IPL, which will be an advantage to the Sunrisers.
The all-rounder has played 20 matches in the IPL striking the ball at almost 115. He also bowls medium pace which is handy for any skipper to break partnerships. He also 20 wickets to his name with the best figures of four for 25.
Marsh also has prior experience of playing in the UAE which will assist during IPL 2020 which will take place in the middle east.