IPL 2020: What does Sunrisers Hyderabad's strongest XI look like?
IPL: While Warner, Bairstow and Rashid are guaranteed a place in the playing XI, the toss-up for the fourth foreign slot will be between all-rounders Mitchell Marsh and Mohammad Nabi.
Published : Sep 16, 2020 09:45 IST
Sunrisers Hyderabad will be buoyed by the fact that all the franchise’s international players will be available for the majority of the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Opener David Warner (Runs: 481, Average: 69.20, SR: 143.86) and Jonny Bairstow (Runs: 445, Average: 55.62, SR: 157.24), who were in tremendous form last season, will land in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on September 17 and might possibly have to sit out the opening game. The duo and Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who has been a constant fixture in the SRH XI for the last three seasons, are likely to be guaranteed three of the four overseas spots.
The toss-up for the fourth foreign slot will be between all-rounders Mitchell Marsh (Australia) and Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan). Marsh and Nabi are coming into the tournament on the back of good outings in the England limited-overs series and the Caribbean Premier League, respectively.
Wriddhiman Saha has an IPL century to his name and has proved in the past that he can accelerate the scoring and drop anchor depending on the situation. In the past, Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar have swapped the roles of a No. 4 and a finisher.
Jharkhand batsman Virat Singh, 22, had a good 2019-20 domestic season, especially in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament where he amassed 343 runs at a strike rate of 142.32. He could find himself playing a regular role in what will be his maiden IPL stint.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be the lead pacer, while left-arm medium pacer Khaleel Ahmed and Siddarth Kaul add variety to the attack with their angles and change-ups.
Abhishek Sharma could prove to be the wildcard. The 20-year-old all-rounder impressed during his brief IPL outing with Delhi Daredevils in 2018, but has struggled for match time after his move to Sunrisers.
Strongest XI 1. David Warner (C/Overseas) 2. Jonny Bairstow (Overseas) 3. Wriddhiman Saha (Wk) 4. Manish Pandey 5. Virat Singh 6. Mitchell Marsh (Overseas) 7. Vijay Shankar 8. Rashid Khan (Overseas) 9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar 10. Siddarth Kaul 11. Khaleel Ahmed Wildcard: Abhishek Sharma |