3 key factors that can help SRH win IPL 2024
Coming into the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL), the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) were tipped to have the best roster on paper. However, the Orange Army quickly learned the hard way that the apparent strength of a side doesn't mean much.
SRH finished dead last in the standings, with only four wins from 14 matches. They needed to switch things up in the IPL 2024 auction, and they did that by signing Pat Cummins for a record amount and making him the skipper of the franchise.
Hyderabad now find themselves in a similar situation once again - they have assembled an excellent roster and now simply need to deliver. And they might just have what it takes to reach their first final since 2018.
SRH's squad for IPL 2024: Aiden Markram, Abdul Samad, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Heinrich Klaasen, Mayank Agarwal, Anmolpreet Singh, Upendra Yadav, Nitish Reddy, Shahbaz Ahmed, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Sanvir Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik, T Natarajan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Travis Head, Wanindu Hasaranga, Pat Cummins (c), Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh, Jhathavedh Subramanyan.
Here are three key factors that can help SRH win IPL 2024.
#3 SRH have plenty of bowling options and a ton of flexibility
Despite losing Kartik Tyagi to the Gujarat Titans (GT), SRH have a plethora of bowling options they can select depending on the conditions. Pat Cummins, Marco Jansen, and Fazalhaq Farooqi are excellent overseas players.
In the Indian pace department, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, Jaydev Unadkat, and Akash Singh are the frontline names. That's a solid core, with domestic all-rounders in the form of Nitish Reddy and Sanvir Singh to fall back on too.
Mayank Markande leads a spin attack that features Shahbaz Ahmed, Jhathavedh Subramanyan, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Washington Sundar. There is a myriad of part-time options, including Aiden Markram, Glenn Phillips, Abhishek Sharma, and maybe even Travis Head.
Barring players who can keep wickets, only two names on the entire roster can't be trusted to bowl at the IPL level - Mayank Agarwal and Rahul Tripathi. Having options is never a bad thing, although that does put pressure on the think tank to get their tactics right.
#2 Hyderabad have enough Indian batting talent
SRH might not have many batters who are currently in the Indian T20I scheme of things, but there's plenty of ability on the roster.
Abhishek was the Player of the Tournament in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, while Mayank is an excellent spin-hitter whose strengths can be harnessed. Tripathi is an intent machine, and there's enough backup in the form of Anmolpreet Singh, another Punjab domestic star.
SRH also have a finisher in the form of Abdul Samad, meaning that they have enough Indian talent to complement the clincher...
#1 SRH have easily the best overseas contingent in IPL 2024
All eight of SRH's overseas players are good enough to be starters at the IPL level. As things currently stand, Phillips and Farooqi seem set to be on the bench, with two of Markram, Jansen, Hasaranga, and Travis Head accompanying Cummins and Heinrich Klaasen in the XI.
Hyderabad have a problem of plenty, which is never a bad thing. All of their overseas stars are world-class performers who can be used depending upon the conditions, and almost all of them can contribute on multiple fronts, too.
If their overseas players can step up and have productive campaigns, it'll be tough to stop SRH in IPL 2024.