3 quality SRH players who might be benched throughout the IPL 2023 season
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) were one of the biggest spenders in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, which was held on December 23 in Kochi.
SRH acquired 13 players at the event after walking in with the highest purse of all 10 franchises. Harry Brook was their biggest buy at ₹13.25 crore, followed by Mayank Agarwal (₹8.25 crore). Apart from the two marquee signings, Hyderabad also snapped up a variety of talented domestic and overseas cricketers.
However, some names who are currently on the roster may not be part of the team's first-choice plans. On that note, here are three quality SRH players who might be benched throughout the IPL 2023 season.
#3 Adil Rashid
The prospect of Adil Rashid getting an IPL contract has been discussed at length in cricketing circles, with the spinner never having nailed down a spot in the league despite excelling on the international stage.
Having recovered from a brief dip in 2022 to play an important role for England towards the end of the 2022 T20 World Cup, the leg-spinner was expected to attract a bid or two in the IPL 2023 auction. SRH addressed their wrist-spin woes by raising the paddle for Rashid, who will take part in his second season in the competition.
However, it won't be easy for Rashid to be part of the playing XI. Hyderabad have quality overseas batters in Aiden Markram, Harry Brook, Heinrich Klaasen and Glenn Phillips, and at least three of them are bound to play. The fourth overseas spot has other contenders in Marco Jansen, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Akeal Hosein as well.
#2 Akeal Hosein
Adil Rashid's spin partner Akeal Hosein might not make it into SRH's playing XI either. The spinner has been stellar for his respective teams over the last few years, having developed relentless accuracy to go with his gamut of variations.
Hosein, though, might not fit the profile to be a starter for SRH. He is handy with the bat, of course, but as a left-arm spinner, he would be competing for a spot in the playing XI with Abhishek Sharma, whose place in the side is guaranteed. Hyderabad need to get more out of Abhishek's bowling, which they barely used in IPL 2022.
Washington Sundar and Aiden Markram are the off-spin options, while Mayank Markande offers a domestic leg-spin angle. Hosein, consequently, might have to bide his time before making his IPL debut.
#1 Fazalhaq Farooqi
Fazalhaq Farooqi has been in the news lately for the wrong reasons, with the Sydney Thunder tearing up his Big Bash League contract. He was retained by SRH, though, and should be part of the squad for IPL 2023.
Unfortunately, Farooqi might not be able to add to the three appearances he made for the Orange Army last year. SRH have a quality domestic pace battery in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, and Kartik Tyagi and can afford to use their overseas slots elsewhere.
Moreover, even if Hyderabad decide to field an overseas pacer like they did in IPL 2022, the spot could go to Marco Jansen, with none of the domestic fast bowlers offering anything with the bat. Jansen would add depth at No. 8, something Farooqi cannot guarantee.
The Afghanistan seamer is a quality T20 bowler, but the stars may not align for him in IPL 2023.