Aakash Chopra predicts the 'Starting XI' for the Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Sunrisers Hyderabad was one of the most successful franchises at the IPL auction. They combined their squad with a mixture of youth and experience and their side looks beautifully balanced. The Sunrisers were the champions of the league in 2016. No other team which came in mid-way through the tournament has been as successful as the Sunrisers Hyderabad. They reached the playoffs three out of five times.

With the IPL auction done and dusted, the fans and experts already started picking their Best XI for all the teams in the tournament. Cricket analyst Aakash Chopra picked his best starting XI for the SRH in IPL. The Sunrisers retained David Warner and Bhuvneshwar Kumar before the auction and this duo is a no-brainer to make it to the XI.

Here is Aakash Chopra’s starting XI for the SRH:

The Sunrisers have two of the best in the business as their openers with David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan. Aakash said that SRH won the auction on the first day itself. He opined that retaining Dhawan was a top choice and Dhawan has been a top performer for SRH. Also, they managed to get Shikhar at a bargain price for just INR 5.2 crores.

Aakash also fancies wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha at the No.3 position. He said Saha will be followed by Manish Pandey who was bought for a whopping INR 11 crores. At No.5, Aakash feels it is best to have Shakib Al Hasan. He felt that Shakib can be handy both with the bat as well as the ball. SRH could play either Yusuf Pathan or Deepak Hooda after Shakib. Chopra said that the SRH were spoilt for choices. There is some ambiguity regarding the No.7 position as well. Chopra feels they can play either of Carlos Brathwaite or Mohammad Nabi at this position.

The bowling department for SRH is pretty much sorted. Rashid Khan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will make it to the XI straight away. He said the other two bowlers will be Siddarth Kaul and Khaleel Ahmed. Aakash justified picking Khaleel in the XI and said that ‘left is right in the IPL’.

Here is the team:

David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha, Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan/Deepak Hooda, Carlos Brathwaite/Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul and Khaleel Ahmed.

Here's my playing XI for #SRH in #IPL2018 #AakashVani Looks like a fairly strong team…doesn't it? What's your XI? Do you agree with this @VVSLaxman281? pic.twitter.com/oFgsnbIP7b

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 6, 2018