IPL 2018: Squad analysis of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Afghan bowler Rashid Khan is the trump card
Sunrisers Hyderabad, popularly known as "The Orange Army," came into the existence in 2012 when they replaced former Hyderabad-based franchise Deccan Chargers after they were controversially terminated in the Indian Premier League.
The franchise is owned by Kalanithi Maran of Sun TV channel Network and has Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad, as its home ground.
They have a glorious record when they made it to the playoffs in the first season and claimed the IPL trophy in 2016.
Hyderabad always believed in having a power-pack bowling but it has been compromising with its batting side.
If we talk about this year's squad of Sunrisers Hyderabad, then again Hyderabad has decked-up talented bowlers as their "trump cards", who will be guided by Lankan legend, Muttiah Muralitharan as their bowling coach.
Hyderabad had retained Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for Rs 8.5 crore. The Indian pacer displayed his brilliance in India's recent tour to South Africa.
The spin department is quite strong as they the Orange Army has invested in Afghanistan's spin-star Rashid Khan who has a terrific record of 135 wickets in 91 T20s, averaging 15.14 at under 6 runs an over.
The in-form Ranji bowler Thangarasu Natarajan who played for Karnataka can also be a valuable wicket-taker. England bowler Chris Jordan might give a boost to the squad with his pace and swing.
Mehdi Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh will provide variation in bowling, which is necessary for IPL that deals with injuries on regular basis due to a hectic schedule.
When it comes to batting, the top order is very aggressive as they have power hitter Shikhar Dhawan and Captain David Warner.
Apart from that, they have New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, who will provide stability at the crucial No-3 position.
The middle order is quite settled with Manish Pandey, Carlos Brathwaite, Wriddhiman Saha and the experienced Shakib-Al-Hasan.
Yusuf Pathan (IPL career batting strike rate of 145.49) will add value to the team with his destructive batting.
They have released some known players like Yuvraj Singh, Ben Cutting, Mustafizur Rahman, Ben Laughlin, Moises Henriques.
The squad is well balanced and the bench is very strong but Hyderabad have invested quite a lot in Manish Pandey, in that place they could have opted for some another batsman.
Under the guidance of coach Tom Moody, VVS Laxman and leadership of David Warner, the Orange Army is a strong contender in IPL-XI.
Here is the squad list of Sunrisers Hyderabad:
Retained:
David Warner (12.5 cr)
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (8.5 cr)
Purchased:
Shikhar Dhawan (5.2 cr), Shakib Al Hasan (2 cr), Kane Williamson (3 cr), Manish Pandey (11 cr), Carlos Brathwaite (2 cr), Yusuf Pathan (1.9 cr), Wriddhiman Saha (5 cr), Rashid Khan (9 cr), Ricky Bhui (20 L), Deepak Hooda (3.6 cr), Siddarth Kaul (3.8 cr), T Natarajan (40 L), Basil Thampi (95 L), Khaleel Ahmed (3 cr), Mohammad Nabi (1 cr), Sandeep Sharma (3 cr), Sachin Baby (20 L), Chris Jordan (1 cr), Billy Stanlake (50 L), Tanmay Agarwal (20 L), Shreevats Goswami (1 cr), Bipul Sharma (20 L), Mehdi Hasan (20 L)
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