IPL 2021: Sunrisers Hyderabad SWOT Analysis

The Sunrisers Hyderabad will be looking to win their second title.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are one of the most consistent sides in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The 2016 IPL champions cemented a playoffs berth last season courtesy of their 7 wins but were unable to go all the way, losing to Delhi Capitals in the Second Qualifier.

The Hyderabad outfit must, however, be lauded for making a strong comeback after losing a string of fixtures in the first half of the tournament.

After retaining their core group, SRH did not have much to do at the auction table. They raised the paddle quite sparingly, making only three buys over the course of the auction. With a settled, well-rounded squad ahead of IPL 2021, SRH will be hoping to go the distance and lift the coveted trophy for the second time.

Squad for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2021

David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Shreevats Goswami, Wriddhiman Saha, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Mohammad Nabi, Vijay Shankar, Kedar Jadhav, Jason Holder, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Abhishek Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Siddarth Kaul, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Khaleel Ahmed, T Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma, Basil Thampi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jagadeesha Suchith, Jason Roy

*Note: Jason Roy came in as a replacement for Mitchell Marsh, who opted out of the tournament owing to bubble fatigue.

Strengths:

1. Settled top order

Kane Williamson and David Warner will be expected to do the bulk of the scoring.

Year after year, the Sunrisers' destructive top order is expected to help them put the game out of their opponents' hands. Skipper David Warner has consistently piled up the big runs. Warner was the highest scorer for the Hyderabad-based franchise in the previous edition of the tournament as well, with 548 runs to his name.

While Warner is a permanent fixture in the eleven, a question mark looms over who will partner him at the top. While Warner and Jonny Bairstow share great camaraderie, Wriddhiman Saha proved his worth when given the chance to open the innings, playing a big role in SRH's comeback last season. Saha's superior wicket-keeping skills, along with the fact that he is an Indian player, just might give him the edge over Bairstow.

Kane Williamson will also be expected to step up to the plate this season. The Kiwi skipper has a cool head on his shoulders and can stabilise the innings, should the openers fall early.

2. Formidable Bowling Attack

SRH have a really good bowling attack at IPL 2021, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan as the two spearheads.

Along with a strong top order, SRH's bowling department too has been crucial in their past IPL campaigns. Led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, SRH will be heading into the tournament with a bowling line-up that comprises of Sandeep Sharma, Thangarasu Natrajan, Jason Holder, and the world's number one T20I bowler, Rashid Khan.

Apart from their lead bowlers, the Sunrisers have impressive back-ups as well. Mujeeb Ur Rehman and Khaleel Ahmed may find it hard to break into the eleven unless an injury befalls any of the regulars at IPL 2021.

Weaknesses

Inexperienced middle order

SRH possess arguably the best top order in the tournament, but once you get past their top order, there is not much batting left to follow. Apart from Manish Pandey and Abdul Samad, none of the other batsmen were able to accelerate at full throttle, one of the reasons why SRH fell short of a final berth last season.

While Vijay Shankar showed promise, he resigned to the bench due to an injury. Priyam Garg and Abhishek Sharma could not show the consistency that a tournament like the IPL requires.

To tackle those problems this time around, SRH has roped in veteran all-rounder Kedar Jadhav. The team management will also have a look at using Virat Singh more after the Jharkhand lad had a pretty impressive run in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earlier this year.

Opportunities

Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar have been out of the national reckoning for quite some time.

1. IPL 2021 could bring about a return to the national fold for SRH trio

Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, and Manish Pandey will be raring to go after they missed out on some game time owing to injuries. While Manish Pandey featured in the knock-out stages for Karnataka in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Vijay Shankar missed out on the domestic tournaments, and now returns to playing competitive cricket after 5 months.

All three of them have also not been in the reckoning for the national team in the past few months. Manish Pandey last played the first T20I in Australia last year while Kedar Jadhav was dropped soon after India toured New Zealand. Vijay Shankar has not donned the blue jersey after the game against West Indies in the 2019 World Cup. A good IPL season for the trio just might see them get back in the reckoning for the national team.

2. Abdul Samad's turn to shine?

There a few exciting prospects in the SRH camp too. Abdul Samad, in particular, came in the limelight after he took on the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje in Qualifier 2. The 23-year-old from Kashmir will be hoping to put up some similar performances once again.

Threats

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was injured after SRH's fourth game and was ruled out of the remainder of IPL 2020.

Injuries were a cause for concern at IPL 2020

The biggest threat to the Sunrisers side is the injuries that their players seem to suffer. A plethora of injuries to their key players hampered their IPL 2020 campaign. The team will be hoping that the players are fully fit this time around.

The Orange Army will kick-off their IPL 2021 campaign with a mouth-watering clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday, April 11 at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai