Stung by a poor show in the last season when they finished eighth, a revamped Sunrisers Hyderabad look to redeem themselves this year.
Their first test comes in the form of a strong Rajasthan Royals, last year’s runners-up, in their opening match on Sunday afternoon at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
Mayank boost for Hyderabad
The think-tank, led by coach Brian Lara, roped in experienced opener Mayank Agarwal and explosive Englishman Harry Brook to bolster the batting line-up. They let go of their steady skipper Kane Williamson.
SRH named South African batter Aiden Markram their new captain. However, Markram, along with Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen will miss the first few matches. Swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar will lead the side in Markram’s absence.
Bhuvneshwar claimed that they have sorted out their problem of not finishing well last year. “I think it has been sorted out this year [having a strong middle-order]. With the impact player rule, we have the luxury of bringing a batter or a bowler. I think the middle-order is sorted out for now,” he said.
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Speaking highly of Brook, Bhuvneshwar said the England batter looks solid. SRH also have Glenn Phillips of New Zealand, a player who can be very aggressive at the back end.
SRH look a very strong bowling unit on paper. Bhuvneshwar, himself an accomplished T20 bowler, also have exciting speedster Umran Malik, T Natarajan and Kartik Tyagi. Malik was nippy and fast last season while left-arm seamer Natarajan is making a comeback of sorts. Off-spinner Washington Sundar is injury-free and could be an asset. England’s leg-spinner Adil Rashid is also an important addition to the team.
RR on the other hand, had an impressive run last season. According to their coach Kumar Sangakkara, they have a lot of key players and match-winners. “If different players contribute at different matches, that is a great result for us,’’ he said.
RR look star-studded
They have retained big players like Jos Buttler, Trent Boult. Simron Hetymer, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal and skipper Sanju Samson. They also brought in players like England’s Joe Root and West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder. The signing of Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa further boosts the spin department.
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