The David Warner led-Indian Premier League team has always been a force to reckon with. This team has always played the best cricket and has provided a different flavour to IPL.
The 2016 edition champions have always made it to the playoffs courtesy performances by their captain David Warner, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The team is also home to some exciting players such as Afghan stars Mohammed Nabi and Rashid Khan and the Kiwi captain Kane Williamson.
In this auction, Sunrisers Hyderabad was able to procure players like Mitchell Marsh, Fabian Allen, and some young Indians stars such as the U-19 Captain Priyam Garg, Jharkhand middle-order batsman Virat Singh, and Jammu Kashmir all-rounder Abdul Samad.
Let’s have a look at the predicted playing XI of Sunrisers Hyderabad for IPL 2020:
1. David Warner (C)
The Australian opener has been in phenomenal touch after coming back into the Australian team. David Warner at the top will be a key batsman for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Warner was key for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the last season as Warner was the highest run-scorer in the tournament.
David Warner has also been appointed the captain of the team instead of Kane Williamson. Warner’s form in IPL has been extremely fabulous and Warner has always led SRH from the front there has been no season since 2013 where the dynamic batsman has scored less than 400 runs.
2. Johnny Bairstow
The English opener and wicket-keeper will open the innings for Sunrisers Hyderabad and will also have to keep wickets for the franchise if they decide not to play Wriddhiman Saha or Sreevats Goswami. Johnny Bairstow will also have the role to give the team a head start along with David Warner.
Bairstow showed signs of explosive batting last year against Royal Challengers Bangalore where he scored a century against the Bangalore bowling line-up.
The English swashbuckling opener had a sensational start to his Indian Premier League career last season, where he racked up 448 runs in matches at an average of 55.62 and a strike-rate of 157.2 with the help of two half-centuries and a blistering three-figure score.
3. Manish Pandey
The first Indian to score a century in the Indian Premier League will be a key batsman in Sunrisers Hyderabad batting line-up. His experience will be key in the line-up, he will also be leading an inexperienced Indian middle-order. Manish Pandey will also look to give the solidity to the team.
The right-hander did have a good last season where he played some crucial innings at the backend of the tournament. In 12 matches, Pandey scored 344 runs at an average of 43 and a strike-rate of 130.79.
Manish Pandey was in good touch in the domestic season where he led Karnataka to victory in Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
4. Vijay Shankar
The seam-bowling all-rounder will have a huge role to play with the bat and the ball. Vijay Shankar became the first Indian bowler to take a wicket of the first ball he bowled in the world cup. Vijay Shankar is also someone who can give a brilliant contribution with the bat.
Shankar had a disappointing season last year for the SRH, where he could only manage 244 runs in 15 matches at an average of 20.33 and a strike-rate of 126.42. With the ball too, the Tamil Nadu all-rounder could manage just 1 wicket at an average of 70.
He would look to change his faith in this IPL as he would look to contribute well with both bat and ball.
5. Virat Singh
The 22-year old Jharkhand middle-order batsman was acquired by Sunrisers Hyderabad for 1.9 Crores after a mini-battle with Kings XI Punjab. Virat Singh had an excellent Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where he led the experienced Jharkhand batting line up very well. He was the highest runs scorer for Jharkhand in both the limited-overs tournament.
Virat Singh will also look to use this opportunity to make a name for himself in this tournament. This will also be a learning experience for the young Singh who has been in the domestic circuit for some time now.
He will also look to learn from the legendary David Warner, Kane Williamson, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
6. Abdul Samad
One of the most surprising picks, the Jammu Kashmir all-rounder was the star and hogged all the limelight in the domestic season. He was one of those players who helped the team score runs at a quick rate and finish games for the team, he scored runs at a quick rate ith a strike rate of 100.
In the 10 T20 innings he played in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he has smacked 240 runs at a strike-rate of 136.36 while staying unbeaten on four occasions. He could be the perfect finisher the SRH is looking for.
Samad is someone who can ball some leg-breaks and confuse the batsmen. It will be interesting if the team picks Abhishek Sharma or Abdul Samad.
7. Mohammad Nabi
Former Afghan captain and the experienced all-rounder will be the finisher for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Mohammad Nabi has the experience of playing all the leagues in the world and has performed extremely well there. Nabi has only played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL. He has played 13 games for the franchise.
The Afghanistan veteran has time and again managed to impress everyone with his batting and bowling. In 13 appearances for Sunrisers Hyderbad, Nabi has scored 135 runs at an exceptional strike-rate of 148.35 and has picked 11 wickets conceding runs at an economy of just 6.62.
8. Rashid Khan
The former Afghan captain was the first cricketer from the country to have ever played in the cash-rich Indian Premier League. Rashid Khan is a brilliant bowler who is known to confuse the bowlers and also has the talent to hit the ball a long way which he has shown in the previous editions of the IPL and also in the international circuit.
With his stellar performances, he has led Afghanistan to victories over Ireland and Bangladesh and also two times champions West Indies.
In the past two seasons, Khan has racked up 21 and 17 wickets at an average of 21.80 and 22.17 respectively, and the leg-spinner will once again be the lynchpin of SRH spin-bowling unit along with Nabi.
9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The Indian swing ball bowler has been in and out due to injury. He would also look to make a comeback against South Africa in the One Day series and will also look to continue his good form in the IPL where he will have the onus of providing a brilliant start with the ball.
In the 2019 season of IPL managed 13 wickets in 15 games at an average of 35.46. He would look to improve his numbers in this year’s IPL where he would like to take wickets at regular intervals and put pressure on the opposition along with Khaleel Ahmed and Sandeep Sharma.
10. Khaleel Ahmed
The left-arm fast bowler Khaleel Ahmed will add variety to the SRH fast bowling attack. But, will the southpaw learn from his mistakes that he did as far as his line and lengths are concerned in the recent T20I series against Bangladesh.
The boy from Rajasthan had a brilliant IPL last year and was also in the reckoning of a spot for the World Cup where in 9 games he got 19 wickets at an average of 15.10 and a strike-rate of 11.00.
11. Sandeep Sharma
The Punjab bowler rose to fame after being part of the victorious U19 team in 2012. Sandeep Sharma’s ability to swing it both ways at the start of the innings makes him a dangerous customer. He will pair with Bhuvneshwar Kumar to give early wickets.
In the previous edition of IPL, the man from Punjab got 12 wickets from 11 outings at an average of 29.33.