IPL 2020: SWOT Analysis of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)

Weaknesses

Threadbare middle-order

Despite their world-class opening combination, SRH’s middle order is threadbare to say the least. Apart from Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar and Wriddhiman Saha, no Indian player has significant IPL experience. The wicket-keeper is best suited to batting in the powerplay, which he might not get to do.

The other options are Priyam Garg, Virat Singh and Shreevats Goswami, and the former two haven’t played in the IPL yet. Among overseas players, Kane Williamson and Mitchell Marsh may not even get to play due to Nabi’s rich vein of form.

SRH might face the same issue that has plagued the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) over the years – they might be too top-heavy. They will need their young Indian batsmen to perform as soon as they are thrown into the thick of things.

Over-reliance on overseas players

While the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals might be over-reliant on their overseas players to step up, SRH certainly are. SRH’s IPL 2020 hopes hinge heavily on Warner, Bairstow and Rashid, and if any of the three players suffer a slump in form, they could be in big trouble.

Moreover, the Australian and English players might miss some part of the start of IPL 2020, and this would leave SRH in a spot of bother at the very start of the tournament. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kane Williamson, both of whom have captained the team in the past, might need to rise to the occasion if this is the case.

SRH will need to ensure that they don’t look to their overseas contingent to win them games single-handedly, and they will need to strike the right balance very early into IPL 2020.