IPL 2016: Meet the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad for season 9
Ever since their inception in the tournament following the termination of the now defunct Deccan Chargers, the Sunrisers Hyderabad side has hosted an assortment of luminaries. The IPL 9 squad is no different in that regard, with the likes of David Warner, Yuvraj Singh, Trent Boult etc. donning the orange jersey this year.
The Orange Army have reached the play-offs only once since 2013 and will be hoping that some new names in the squad can take bolster their side this year.
Just like the Pune squad, the Hyderabad squad will have the experience of three international skippers in Kane Williamson, Eoin Morgan and current skipper David Warner. Indian players such as Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra will also add tremendous experience to the side while ex-Sunrisers skipper Shikhar Dhawan will be looking to get back into form.
How did the auctions go for them?
Sunrisers Hyderabad are a team who have always made the right choices in the auctions. This year was no different, as they made some key buys in Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra and Mustafizur Rahman who are fresh from their World Cup campaign.
The additions of Nehra and Mustafizur can turn out to be a masterstroke as both were the top performers in the bowling charts for India and Bangladesh respectively.
Even the uncapped players picked were a very impressive lot with Aditya Tare, Deepak Hooda, T Suman performing very well in the domestic circuit. Barinder Sran, who represented India against Australia was also picked to bolster the bowling attack.
Strengths:
The major strength that the Hyderabad squad have is that they have covered all bases. While the batting is led by an explosive pair in Warner and Dhawan, the bowling is led by the wily Ashish Nehra.
The middle order is also very strong with the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Kane Williamson comprising it. The bowling line-up is also settled with Ashish Nehra leading the pack along with premier pacer Trent Boult or the clever, subtle changes in pace from Mustafizur Rahman.
Weaknesses:
The factor playing in the Sunrisers think-tank would be the missing lead spinner. Although the roster boasts of tremendous pace bowlers, the role of a lead spinner will be heavily missed.
Karn Sharma has been very good for them, but if he has an off-day, the captain will have to turn to Yuvraj Singh, who hasn’t had a great outing with the ball in recent times and is battling an injury concern.
Franchise details :
Owner : Kalanidhi Maran (Sun TV Networks)
Captain : David Warner
Home : Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
History : 2013 - Playoffs, 2014 - 6th position, 2015 - 6th position
Sunrisers Hyderabad schedule for IPL 9:
| Date | Opposition | Venue | Time |
| 12th April 2016 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore | 20:00 |
| 16th April 2016 | Kolkata Knight Riders | Rajiv Gandhi Intl. Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad | 16:00 |
| 18th April 2016 | Mumbai Indians | Rajiv Gandhi Intl. Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad | 20:00 |
| 21st April 2016 | Gujarat Lions | Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot | 20:00 |
| 23rd April 2016 | Kings XI Punjab | Rajiv Gandhi Intl. Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad | 20:00 |
| 26th April 2016 | Rising Pune Supergiants | Rajiv Gandhi Intl. Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad | 20:00 |
| 30th April 2016 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Rajiv Gandhi Intl. Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad | 20:00 |
| 6th May 2016 | Gujarat Lions | Rajiv Gandhi Intl. Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad | 20:00 |
| 8th May 2016 | Mumbai Indians | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | 16:00 |
| 10th May 2016 | Rising Pune Supergiants | Maharashtra Cricket Association's International Stadium, Pune | 20:00 |
| 12th May 2016 | Delhi Daredevils | Rajiv Gandhi Intl. Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad | 20:00 |
| 15th May 2016 | Kings XI Punjab | Vidharbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur | 20:00 |
| 20th May | Delhi Daredevils | Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Naya Raipur | 20:00 |
| 22nd May 2016 | Kolkata Knight Riders | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | 16:00 |