IPL 2019: Sunrisers Hyderabad's predicted XI after World Cup departures

It has been a season of mixed emotions for the 2016 champions Sunrisers Hyderabad, who currently are finding it difficult to maintain good winning momentum. Although they had some dominating moments in the tournament, their weaknesses are clearly visible for the oppositions and with some important players leaving for World Cup duties, they literally are exposed.

SRH currently stands fourth on the points table, with five wins and as many defeats in 10 matches. The coming four games are against Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, three of which are away from home. With David Warner and Jonny Bairstow set to leave, a huge void will tinker the set up big time.

Bairstow and Warner have been the biggest source of runs, with the duo collectively amassing over 900 runs for the team already. They will also lose the services of Shakib Al Hasan, for whom there’s a direct replacement in Mohammad Nabi. There is a huge job cut out for SRH after these departures and it will be interesting to see if Kane Williamson can once again propel this side into the playoffs

1. Martin Guptill

Martin Guptill’s role in the side this season was very clear, to come in as a replacement once the first-choice openers are gone. Well, the Sunrisers management cannot ask for any better second choice option than the Kiwi dynamite, who can win matches all by himself on his day. The only worrying aspect is his inability to contain the Indian conditions.

2. Kane Williamson (c)

Skipper Kane Williamson opened the innings on a few occasions last season and did a decent job. He will have one among Shreevats Goswami and Wriddhiman Saha as an opening option, but to accommodate some other positions, it is important for him to open the innings with his Kiwi partner.

3. Manish Pandey

From a very long time, experts have been urging the SRH management to send Manish Pandey at number three and give him all the freedom. Once they did it against CSK in Chennai, he did a fabulous job, notching a brilliant 83 off 49 balls. SRH’s big money signing finally showed some class with the bat and the management would not want to tinker with his position.

4. Vijay Shankar

Vijay Shankar will follow him up at number 4, a position he is expected to fill in the World Cup. Despite chipping in with a few promising cameos in the tournament’s beginning phase, he has struggled for runs in the latter half. He hasn’t bowled a lot as well but skipper Williamson might have to use him more profusely to reap better rewards.

5. Wriddhiman Saha (wk)

Wriddhiman Saha will have to bat in the lower middle order for the team’s betterment and will have to tonk the ball from the get-go. He had a catastrophic first season with the Sunrisers as an opener, but did well behind the sticks, keeping the likes of Shakib and Rashid quite brilliantly. They need a bit more than that if they ought to replicate last season’s heroics.

6. Mohammad Nabi

Arguably one of SRH’s top performers this season, Mohammad Nabi was unfortunate to lose his place in the XI to skipper Kane Williamson, but that was the need of the hour. He most certainly will be back in the XI and will be an important presence with the bat and ball. He thus far has picked up 7 wickets in four games at an economy of 5.49.

7. Yusuf Pathan

Accompanying Nabi and Saha to do the finishing duties will be Yusuf Pathan, who has been underperforming this season. But he has all the experience in the world to do a good job in crunch situations. One of the few cricketers with a strike-rate in excess of 140 despite playing over 100 matches, Pathan has a proven record, but thus far has not been up to the mark.

8. Khaleel Ahmed

Perhaps the only fast bowler in the team who looked good enough to pick wickets at will. Khaleel is attacking the batsmen with his canny variations and they are clearly struggling to cope with his pace and brilliance. For the Sunrisers to go ahead in the tournament and make their place in the top four, Khaleel needs to be at his best.

9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has not had a great time as a captain but has been doing a great job with the new ball. He is tying up the batsmen in the first few overs but has struggled profusely to pick wickets at regular intervals. SRH needs their primetime fast bowler to pick more wickets at regular intervals for the side.

10. Sandeep Sharma

Sandeep Sharma has been doing a decent job, but on tracks which are too flat, he gets hammered a bit too much for SRH’s liking. Sandeep got hammered in the hands of Shane Watson and Suresh Raina against CSK. He has not been completely out of touch but has been inconsistent, much to the worry of the management.

11. Rashid Khan

The biggest source of wickets for the Sunrisers, Rashid Khan is chipping in with some match-winning spells. But he has not been among the top wicket takers this season. He definitely has set the bars pretty high. He did have an off-game against the Chennai Super Kings, but Rashid will be eager to replicate his best performances again.

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