Hyderabad: Last year, the Indian Premier League (IPL) turned out to be a nightmare for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) as they finished at the bottom of the points table with just four victories from 14 matches. Misfiring of the batting order was the main cause of concern for the team and the tournament ended up in a dismal campaign for the side.
South African Heinrich Klaasen was the star performer of the team scoring 448 runs with an average of 49.77. Also, in the bowling unit, pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umran Malik took 16 and 12 wickets respectively but none of the other bowlers dished out a significant performance.
Now, coming into the auction this year, the franchise bought Australian pacer Pat Cummins for a whooping amount of INR 20.50 crores. The Australian pacer, who has been appointed as SRH skipper, will spearhead the pace department of the team.
Apart from him, SRH bought five players including Australian star Travis Head and Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga. Following is the SWOT analysis of the team.
Strength
Overseas stars are the biggest strength of the 'Orange Army' as the roster includes Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Glen Phillips and Pat Cummins. Markram can play a key role in the middle order while Heinrich Klaasen and Glenn Phillips are usually handy while batting in the lower order. Marco Jansen and Pat Cummins can be lethal with the new ball in hand.
New ball bowlers are another area of strength for the team. They have Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jansen and Cummins who can wreak havoc with the new ball. Also, with the addition of Travis Head, the team will have an explosive opener at the top.
Weakness
The form of the Indian players in the last domestic season is a factor to worry for the team management ahead of the upcoming season. Batter Rahul Tripathi amassed 130 runs from seven matches with an average of 21.66 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023-24. Batter Mayank Agarwal scored just 126 runs from five matches. All-rounder Washington Sundar had scored only 62 runs from five games and failed to take a single wicket.
Death bowler is another concern for the franchise as they don't have a specialist bowler who can nail yorkers in the slog overs. Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar used to perform that role for the team but his absence from international cricket for a long time raises questions about his capability to deliver in the back end of the innings. Also, left-arm pacer T Natrajan is coming back from an injury so his ability to deliver perfect yorkers is also yet to be tested.
Threat
With multiple overseas options available in the all-rounder’s section, the team will have to bench either two of Wanindu Hasaranga, Marco Jansen and Glenn Phillips. All three are quality options but only one of them will be able to feature in the lineup. Also, the team lacks an experienced spinner in the squad and that might result in the team conceding a lot of runs in the middle phase.
Opportunities
The cash-rich tournament will provide a platform for the players like Upendra Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy. The former is a wicketkeeper batter and might get chances in a few games. On the other hand, Nitish Kumar Reddy is a batting all-rounder and he can walk in to bat in the lower order for the team.
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