Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have always been a consistent side in the Indian Premier League (IPL). They have won the title twice, first as Deccan Chargers and second in the new Sunrisers avatar.
The biggest reason behind the success of SRH is that over the years, their auction strategies have been excellent credit to their impressive think-tank.
This season, Sunrisers have seven slots to fill, including two overseas players. They have a decent INR 17 crore left in their purse; it’s enough to fill slots.
Ahead of the auction, Hyderabad released players like Martin Guptill, Yusuf Pathan, Deepak Hooda, and retained Khaleel Ahmed, T Natrajan, Sandeep Sharma.
They also released Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan as he has banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for failing to report the bookie approach.
SRH has covered all aspects, and they have proper openers, middle-order batsmen, and all-rounders. Still, they do need to figure out a few issues.
Let’s have a look at three players that the Orange Army might target in the upcoming auction:
Robin Uthappa
In the form of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow, Sunrisers have a settled unit of openers, but they are highly dependent on the duo, and if they don’t plan an alternative, then they might get into trouble.
Having a backup opener will help the management as well as the skipper, and Robin Uthappa could be a great choice to do the honors.
The best part about Uthappa is that he can bat in the middle as well, so if SRH at any moment feel that they need a middle-order batsman, they wouldn’t have to worry as the Karnataka born will play the role perfectly.
Glenn Maxwell
Team Hyderabad has quality all-rounders like the Afghanistan duo Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, who have enough experience in the shortest format. Still, they are not power-hitters, and this is where SRH lacks a lot.
Orange Army needs an attacking batsman who takes no time to settle and can boost the lower middle-order slot. Australia’s Glenn Maxwell is an expert in this art.
Maxwell needs no introduction as he’s virtuoso in this format. If SRH goes with Maxwell, then their big problem of not having a strong lower middle-order will get a solution.
The right-hander can bowl few spells in the middle overs, and he’s without any doubt one of the tremendous fielders of the game, so having him on the side will help SRH, and they may clinch the IPL title once again.
Sheldon Cottrell
The WestIndian left-arm bowler Sheldon Cottrell adds a different dimension to the bowling attack. The natural angle that he creates always troubles the right-hand batsmen. He can swing the ball both ways, and the best thing is that he can bowl at death overs too.
The action of Cottrell helps him to bowl perfect Yorkers, and that’s why he becomes difficult to hit in the slog overs.
However, Sunrisers have Khaleel Ahmed as their left-arm pacer, but the kind of experience Cottrell has makes him a strong candidate to bid for. Also, Khaleel doesn’t have an impressive record when it comes to the slog overs.
Until last season, Bhuvneshvar Kumar was handling to bowl in the death, but he is not in his prime form, so having Cottrell in the side will help the veteran bowler as well.
