IPL 2018: Match 4, SRH vs RR - Sunrisers Hyderabad's Predicted XI

The 2016 IPL champions Sunrisers Hyderabad suffered a massive jolt when David Warner was not permitted to appear in the 11th edition of the tournament. Following the ban sanctioned on him by Cricket Australia for his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal, Warner’s participation in the IPL was also discarded, which left a huge void in the Sunrisers side.

Despite the loss of their talismanic batsman, Sunrisers will be a force to reckon with considering how brilliant the management was at the auction table. They have named Kane Williamson as the skipper for the season and it was quite an obvious choice considering the Kiwi superstar’s credentials over the years.

Their top buys this season were Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, and Rashid Khan and these players will have a big role to play for the franchise. They do seem to have a problem of plenty with their all-rounders and fast bowlers, but that’s a headache every captain would envy instead of having nothing. Here’s the predicted XI of the Orange Army for the season opener.

Openers – Shikhar Dhawan and Wriddhiman Saha

David Warner’s absence has left a massive vacuum at the top of the order and Dhawan has to cover-up for it as much as he can. He’s the most experienced IPL player in this lineup and has been with the club since their inception. He has been in a devastating form recently, which should do his confidence a world of good.

Alex Hales has been roped in for Warner, which certainly is a like-for-like replacement. Saha is more likely to end up taking that opening slot considering he’s got the experience and if he can play well, they can accommodate an extra foreign player in the all-rounders or bowling slots. Saha had done well as an opener with the Kings XI Punjab, scoring that famous hundred in the IPL final back in 2014.

Middle Order – Kane Williamson (C), Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan

The newly minted skipper Williamson has loads of experience and the Sunrisers should consider themselves fortunate to have someone like him in these times of turmoil. He’s likely to take up the number 3 slot, with the costliest buy for SRH this season, Manish Pandey taking the number 4 slot.

Williamson and Pandey might even exchange their position on occasions this season. The other big presence in the middle order will be the veteran Yusuf Pathan, who has more IPL experience than any other player in the SRH roster. He will be playing the finisher’s role in the lineup and it’ll be interesting to see how he fares.

All-rounders –  Shakib Al Hasan and Rashid Khan

Shakib has been one of the picks of the season for the Sunrisers. The Bangladeshi superstar is a renowned name in the fraternity and is one of the most highly rated all-rounders in the cricketing fraternity right now. His experience will be crucial and if he goes well, SRH lineup will find great balance.

Rashid Khan’s performance with the ball won the hearts of so many people in the last edition. This time around, he’ll have a bigger role to play as he has improved a lot as a batsman as well. If he can get some big hits batting at number 7, Rashid will become a massive asset for the Sunrisers.

Bowlers – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Billy Stanlake

Without a shadow of a doubt, one player all the SRH bowlers are looking up to this season is their talismanic bowler, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He has a lot of new faces in the attack this time around and Sandeep Sharma, who has a pretty similar bowling style, will ensure they form a deadly new ball duo.

Siddharth Kaul did an excellent job in the death overs for SRH last season. He will be a hard nut to crack once he gets into his groove. Accompanying this incredible Indian trio is Billy Stanlake, the tall and lanky pacer from Australia. Not many have seen him bowl but he’s one force to reckon with considering how quick and uncanny he is.

Here’s SRH predicted XI for the game against RR

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