IPL 2020: Probable auction strategy for Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad have always been very strategic in picking players over the years. Not only do they keep the core intact, they always pick players for each slot and role. The 2016 IPL champions have qualified for the playoffs every single time in the last four years; winning one title and finishing as runner-ups once.
The Sunrisers did not indulge in trading during the transfer window. Having almost all bases covered, they are one of the most balanced teams on paper for the last two years. SRH released just 5 players, the least among all teams.
List of retained and released players:
Retained: Kane Williamson, David Warner, Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Abhishek Sharma, Jonny Bairstow, Wriddhiman Saha, Shreevats Goswami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul, Shahbaz Nadeem, Billy Stanlake, Basil Thampi, T Natarajan
Released: Deepak Hooda, Martin Guptill, Ricky Bhui, Shakib Al Hasan and Yusuf Pathan
Available Slots: 7 (two overseas)
Purse remaining: Rs 17.00 cr
Here we analyse how SRH should approach the auctions, taking a look at possible strategies and identifying potential candidates they could look out for.
Also see – Bangladesh Premier Le Points Table
Areas of concern to address for Sunrisers Hyderabad
Known for picking players based on slots and roles, SRH find themselves a little short of resources as far as finishing with the bat is concerned. They can try and groom Vijay Shankar and Abhishek Sharma as finishers or even try out the likes of Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan for the role. But they would like to have some reliability down the order. To avoid a situation like last year, when the team failed whenever David Warner and Jonny Bairstow did not score, they need to ensure they have the right kind of players in the lower middle-order.
Bowling has always been SRH's strongest suit. But this time the concern will be the form of Indian pacers. All three regulars of last year, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma and Siddarth Kaul are on a downward slide. Billy Stanlake's recurring injuries will be a cause of concern for the side. Thus fast bowling is an area where the management will to look to get in some quality.
Probable buys
With just two overseas slots left, SRH will look for a pacer and a middle order batsman from the overseas contingent. Death bowling is where the likes of Sandeep and Kaul faltered last season and Khaleel is yet to prove his death bowling skills. So they will be look for the likes of Andrew Tye, Mustafizzur Rehman and Chris Jordan who are known for their variations at the death. Also they will like some raw pace in their squad; Pat Cummins, Oshane Thomas, Sam Curran and Anrich Nortje provide the best options.
For the middle order, they will ideally want an experienced overseas campaigner. Ben Cutting and Colin de Grandhomme provide the ideal options. But considering the quality of overseas stars they have, it will be difficult to accommodate another overseas player in the XI. Hence most likely they will be focusing on getting some Indian talent in this department. With most of the middle order Indian batsmen retained by their respective teams and scarcity of finishers in domestic cricket, the Hyderabad-based franchise will find it tough to fill that slot.
Expect Sunrisers Hyderabad to buff up their Indian bench while being choosy in filling overseas slots as they already have high quality overseas players and only two overseas slots left.
