IPL 2022: 4 players SRH might retain ahead of mega auction

The upcoming mega auction has been the talk of the town for quite a while now. The eight exiting teams are now allowed to retain a maximum of four players. While some fans are happy about it, some aren’t.

However, this comes as a blessing in disguise for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). The orange army looked absolutely clueless during the 14th edition of the IPL. They ended up last on the points table in the IPL 2021.

However, they do have quality players in their side who they would like to retain. The SRH management can build a new team around this core group of players. So which are those players who SRH might decide to retain?

Here are 4 players SRH might retain ahead of mega auction:

1) Kane Williamson

Kane Williamson is arguably one of the best players in the world right now. His consistently is what makes him a modern day great. Despite not being a hard hitter, he has a knack of rotating the strike and scoring crucial runs during important games.

This makes him a valuable asset in the shortest format of the game. Besides, he is an exceptional captain too. It is safe to say that he is one of the finest leaders going around right now.

SRH would need a captain and who better than the Kiwi skipper? The orange army can make a team around him. Retaining him also gives them the luxury to include him in the scheme of things during the mega auction.

2) Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan is one of the biggest assets any T20 team can have. His skills are second to none. Bowling, batting, fielding you name it he will do it all. Besides, he has been a loyal servant of SRH.

He has been representing the side since 2017. Over time, he has become an integral member of the orange army. Not to forget his valuable contributions which have seen SRH cross the line more often than not.

Retaining him would be an absolute no-brainer for the franchise. It guarantees them at least one player who can win matches on his own. Not to forget the fact that he is barely 23 and has age on his side.

3) Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been playing for SRH since 2014. He has been one of their key performers since then. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that he has been one of their best Indian players.

The seamer has won the Purple Cap twice (2016, 2017) while playing for them. However, he hasn’t played too many games for them of late due to his injury concerns.

However, irrespective of his injuries, he needs to be retained. One of the major reason for it being the fact that he is an established Indian pacer and you wouldn’t find too many established Indian pacers in the auction pool. Besides, you need experienced players in your team.

4) T Natrajan

Now this might be a surprising pick. However, those who have watched him bowl would know how good Natrajan is. The pacer is currently one of the best death bowlers in the country.

Having a specialist death bowler in your side simplifies the work of a captain. Moreover, he has the ability to confuse the opposition batters with his change of pace. The Tamil Nadu bowler has picked 20 wickets in 24 IPL games so far.

His bowling average and strike rate are 34.4 and 25.05, respectively. His economy rate in the Indian T20 league is 8.24, which is acceptable in this format. Last but not the least, he won’t be too costly and thus, SRH can retain him for a reasonable price and then use the extra bucks to buy a few world class players in the upcoming mega auction.