IPL 2023: Why is no one talking about Sunrisers Hyderabad?

With a purse of Rs 42.25 crore ahead of the mini-auction in December last year, the Sunrisers Hyderabad were the busiest team on the table as they pressed the ‘reset’ button after a disappointing couple of seasons. The franchise’s decision to spend the big bucks on Kane Williamson (Rs 14 crore) and Abdul Samad (Rs 4 crore) ahead of the mega auction did raise eyebrows and the move clearly backfired as they failed to put together a solid squad for the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League and finished a disappointing eighth. The 2021 season was even worse as they ended at the bottom of the table and clearly looked a unit short on planning and execution.

IPL 2023: SRH preview and strongest playing XI

Two seasons and a brilliant mini-auction later, the team now wears a formidable look as it has assembled a quality squad featuring plenty of match-winners. The Sunrisers are not enjoying the pre-season attention they should and could well turn out to be the side that sneaks its way to the top of the table this year. With a fine blend of uncapped Indian players and international stars, SRH have all bases covered and certainly have what it takes to get their hands on the IPL trophy for the second time.

The batting order wears a dangerous look and enjoys a lot of depth, spin has a lot of variety and seam bowling has plenty of pace and accuracy. In Aiden Markram, they have a skipper who doesn’t have any previous baggage and recent highs in the SA20 and the international arena will only help.

Our Orange Gladiator – Mayank’ximus