Team Profile, SunRisers Hyderabad: Hyderabad Outfit Keen To Shine Again Like 2016

SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) emerged runners-up in the previous edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) where they lost to Chennai Super Kings in the final by eight wickets. SRH became the first team to lose four times to the same opposition in a tournament in 2018 (twice in the league, once in the play-offs and once in the final). SRH have been one of the most unpredictable teams in the competition ever since their inception back in 2013. Known for their balanced bowling attack, the SRH side successfully defended small totals in the 2018 edition.

The Hyderabad-based franchise came to existence following the termination of Deccan Chargers in 2012. The Orange Army, as they are famously known, have been led by Shikhar Dhawan, Darren Sammy, and David Warner before Kane Williamson took over the captaincy in 2018 following Warner's suspension. The team reached play-offs in their first edition in 2013 where they lost to Rajasthan Royals by four wickets.

SRH didn't have a successful season in 2014 when they finished sixth in the points table with only six wins. In 2015 also, they failed to make any impact as they again finished sixth with seven wins and seven losses. But the Orange Army led by the aggressive David Warner were able to win the precious IPL title in 2016 where they defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by eight runs in the final.
Warner top-scored for the Hyderabad-franchise making 69 runs off just 38 balls. His innings included eight fours and three sixes.

However, it was Australian all-rounder Ben Cutting who starred with the bat towards the end plundering 39 runs from just 15 balls that included three fours and four sixes. The player of the final also picked two vital RCB wickets. He dismissed the dangerous Chris Gayle and clean bowled KL Rahul.

With a well-settled team, SRH will look to emulate their performances with the ball. The batting also looks balanced with the coming back of David Warner for the upcoming season. Warner, Williamson, Martin Guptill, Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan are the batting mainstays for SRH. All-rounders Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Nabi and Vijay Shankar add variety to the team.

The bowling will be led by Rashid Khan who was the second highest wicket-taker in the tournament last year. Billy Stanlake will provide the x-factor.

Squad: Kane Williamson, David Warner, Abhishek Sharma, Jonny Bairstow, Khaleel Ahmed, Ricky Bhui, Basil Thampi, Shreevats Goswami, Martin Guptill, Deepak Hooda, Siddharth Kaul, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Nabi, Shahbaz Nadeem, T Natarajan, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Rashid Khan, Wriddhiman Saha, Sandeep Sharma, Vijay Shankar, Shakib Al Hasan, Billy Stanlake.

Topics mentioned in this article

Sunrisers Hyderabad Kane Williamson David Warner Martin Guptill Rashid Khan Yusuf Pathan Cricket IPL 2019