Sunrisers Hyderabad have always been one of the dark horses in the IPL. They don’t really have the strongest squad on paper, but they have got the utility players all the way through, both in the bowling as well as in the batting department and that’s why they almost always challenge the strongest teams.
SRH has consistently made it to the playoffs in the last three seasons and they might well be able to do it again in IPL 2020. Here is the strongest possible XI of SRH in the upcoming IPL –
#Openers (David Warner, Jonny Bairstow)
There is absolutely no doubt about SRH’s opening pair at all. Warner and Bairstow opened the batting for the first time for SRH last season and they turned out to be the best opening pair in the entire tournament and that too when they went back to their national duties before the playoffs. They just piled on so many runs in the few games that they played that none of the other opening pairs was able to match it.
Warner and Bairstow are most likely to open the batting for SRH again.
#Middle order (Manish Pandey, Abdul Samad, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Nabi)
Manish Pandey’s numbers at no. 3 and no. 4 are way better than what his numbers are at no. 5 and no. 6. He is someone who likes to take a bit of time before he starts timing his shots and no. 3 is probably the best bet for him.
Abdul Samad is the new kid on the block. Playing for Jammy & Kashmir in the last domestic season, Samad showed that he had got the power to clear the ground with ease, especially against spin bowling and he is someone whom SRH can use as an enforcer with the bat in the middle phase of the innings.
Vijay Shankar and Mohammed Nabi are capable of playing the big shots against the fast bowlers and hence, they are an ideal pair to bat towards the end of the innings, precisely between over no. 15 and 20.
#All-rounders (Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan)
Both Abhishek Sharma and Rashid Khan can bat a bit apart from contributing with their spin bowling which is, of course, their main forte. Abhishek is a bit more organized with the bat as compared to Rashid who is a very unorthodox batsman, but is incredibly effective at the death.
As far as their role with the ball is concerned, Abhishek will probably be asked to keep the run rate in check, while Rashid Khan will be an attacking option for SRH.
#Bowlers (Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul and Basil Thampi)
Both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Siddharth Kaul swing the ball upfront and use their variations at the death, but Thampi adds a bit of a different dimension to the SRH attack.
Thampi is not a conventional swing bowler. He has got a slingy action and he is very good at bowling full and into the blockhole.
Thampi has got a lot more pace as well in comparison to Bhuvneshwar and Siddharth and he can be a pretty good first change bowler who can also be a very useful option at the death if one of Bhuvneshwar or Siddharth goes for a lot of runs.
Some people might be of the view that Thampi would be a better option at the death than Siddharth anyway.
