IPL 2020: 3 all-rounders that SRH should target at the auction
Sunrisers Hyderabad's IPL 2019 campaign was a tale of two halves. While they excelled when David Warner and Jonny Bairstow opened the innings, they struggled to do well once the two departed for national duties.
The bowlers weren't at their best last season, as only Khaleel Ahmed picked up wickets consistently for them. As a result, they had to settle for a fourth-place finish.
SRH weren't active during the trade window and released just five players ahead of the auction. However, three of the players they let go were all-rounders, so the team would desperately need some all-rounders to fill their squad.
They'll especially feel the absence of star player Shakib Al Hasan, who is serving a two-year ban.
Also see – World Test Championship points table
Released Players: Yusuf Pathan, Martin Guptill, Shakib Al Hasan, Deepak Hooda and Ricky Bhui.
With a purse of ₹17 crore, SRH have the leverage to go all out on the players they want to sign. With Shakib gone, signing a quality all-rounder should be their priority.
On that note, here are three all-rounders that SRH can sign to replace Shakib.
Note: Due to the lack of quality Indian all-rounders in the auction, SRH would inevitably have to go for an overseas all-rounder. But they have an excess of overseas players in their side, and it may be tough for a new player to find a place in the playing XI.
Last season, SRH benched Kane Williamson on many occasions to play Mohammad Nabi or Shakib along with Rashid Khan and the openers. All the players in this piece have been picked assuming that SRH would continue to do that in 2020 to maintain the team balance.
#3 David Wiese
While David Wiese isn't the first name that comes to your mind when you think of the auction, his recent performances make him a noteworthy target.
The 34-year-old Proteas all-rounder is a T20 veteran and has played in more than 200 T20 matches. He is a decent lower-order batsman and can clear the boundary with ease.
Wiese is also a very capable bowler with a lot of variations, which enable him to do well in the middle overs and the death.
Wiese has scored more than 2,100 runs in his T20 career at a great strike-rate of 144.55, and has also picked up 159 wickets from 182 matches.
He did well for the Bangla Tigers in the T10 League, picking up 7 wickets from 8 matches at a good bowling strike-rate of 12.1. He also scored 39 runs at a brilliant strike-rate of 205.26.
Wiese was in even better form in the Vitality T20 Blast playing for Sussex, as he scored 284 runs at a strike-rate of 149.47 and average of 40.57 in addition to picking up 4 wickets with the ball.
SRH have had a history of going for left-field picks like Moises Henriques and Billy Stanlake, and they could possibly target someone like Wiese too. He isn't likely to cost much at the auction and the team can save funds as well as get a quality all-rounder into their team.