No Indian Premier League team except for the (now suspended) Chennai Super Kings has defended its title. As such, Sunrisers Hyderabad, this year’s defending champions, find themselves treading a rocky terrain. It would, however, be pointedly bracing in the Sunrisers’ favour that they have been oddly consistent in their results. In their debuting year in their revamped avatar, in the League’s sixth edition in 2013, the Sunrisers qualified – and lost – in the playoffs. The next two years had them finish in the sixth place, before they catapulted to the unlikeliest of glories in 2016. Can the Sunrisers do well in their bid for the title retention, or will they lose their way like most of the other teams? Well, like the much famous Schrödinger’s cat-in-the-box theory, the Sunrisers can rely on the IPL 10 to sort their way ahead for them.

Old Faces:

David Warner – The 29-year-old Australian has been a part of the Sunrisers’ squad since 2014 and has come to be the bulwark of their batting lineup. In the three years that he has been with the squad, Warner has contributed 1,938 runs, 848 of which came in the last season alone, at an average of 60.57. Warner’s nuanced captaincy has also helped the Sunrisers profit immensely, making him quite a key player to have in the team’s composition.

Yuvraj Singh – The southpaw was the costliest buy for two years running – 2014-15 – before finding his place with the Sunrisers last year. Despite not contributing consistently with the bat or the ball over the last couple of years, Singh doesn’t lack the ability to turnaround the match and will be keen show what he is really capable of. Will the 10th season of the IPL mark a new chapter for the 35-year-old veteran?

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Ashish Nehra – Nehra’s IPL career, much like his international career, has been blighted by injury. Yet, there’s been no lack of intent from Nehra each time he takes to the field. In his first year of being a part of the Sunrisers’ squad last year, Nehra played eight matches and picked nine wickets at an average of 22.11 and an economy of 7.65. He finished the 2016 IPL season with best bowling figures of 3/15.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar – Since joining the team in 2014, Kumar has been a handy addition to the team, effectual both with the ball and the bat. Last season, Kumar pocketed 23 wickets in 17 matches, at an average of 21.30 and an economy of 7.42, finishing with the purple cap for his efforts. His best bowling performance came against the Gujarat Lions, against whom he pouched four wickets, giving away just 29 runs in the process. Will the 27-year-old replicate his bowling spell again this year?

New Faces:

Rashid Khan – Khan was the costliest of the eight players bought by Sunrisers at the 2017 IPL Player Auction. The 18-year-old, who had a base price of Rs 50 lakh, went for a whopping Rs eight crore, 16 times more than his base price. Khan was the pick of the Afghan bowling attack in their recently concluded bilateral series against Ireland, spinning them awry with his deliveries. He finished with nine wickets in Afghanistan’s win in their three-match T20 series, and with 16 wickets in their five-match ODI series. However, given that the IPL frequently makes short work of such touted wizardry in players’ skillsets, Khan’s purchase is, at best, a costly gamble for the Sunrisers.

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Mohammed Siraj – The second-most costly purchase of the Sunrisers ahead of the 2017 IPL season, the 23-year-old Siraj too remains an unknown element in the team. He has done well in the national List A circuit for Hyderabad, picking eight wickets in his last four T20 matches, with best figures of 4/24 against Andhra Pradesh. But, only time will reveal if he can carry through his good showing on an altogether different stage without being overawed by the occasion.

Eklavya Dwivedi – The Uttar Pradesh lad has been roped in by the Sunrisers as the wicket-keeping complement to Naman Ojha. He is also their third costliest player, purchased for Rs 75 lakh, substantially spilling over his base price of Rs 30 lakh. While it does have to be seen whether Dwivedi is able to live up to his monetary billing, it also remains to be seen if the Sunrisers given him more opportunities to play, given that Ojha will be filling in primarily as the wicketkeeper-batsman.

Strengths:

Reinforced batting – The likes of Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson as the core batsmen will not only help the team pile on the runs, but do so smartly adjusting to the situation on hand.

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In-depth bowling attack – The Sunrisers have invested significantly in trying to add depth to their bowling attack. While Kumar and Nehra will spearhead the team’s bowling configuration, along with Mustafizur Rahman and Barinder Singh Sran – to name a couple – who have been retained from the 2016 squad, the newer additions to the team also bolster their bowling coffers.

Weaknesses:

Superficiality in team’s overall depth – This factor is the team’s biggest drawback. There’s significant disparity in the number of batsmen and bowlers making up the numerical tally in the Sunrisers’ overall squad. Though the team has an influencing presence of all-rounders, they too are more on the lines of bowling all-rounders. In the event of their top-order back-firing, the Sunrisers, thus, look to be a side that could be compromised instead of being a well-rounded side, whose numbers fill in all cricketing departments adequately.

Prediction:

To finish fifth in the League.

X-Factor:

Their unpredictability could be the biggest game changer for the Sunrisers, as it had helped them win the 2016 season against the favourites Royal Challengers Bangalore. They have done well when flying under the radar and this year too, could be no different for them.

Full Squad:

David Warner (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, Ricky Bhui, Yuvraj Singh, Moises Henriques, Chris Jordan, Abhimanyu Mithun, Barinder Singh Sran, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Naman Ojha (wicketkeeper), Eklavya Dwivedi (wicketkeeper), Tanmay Agarwal, Mustafizur Rahman, Siddarth Kaul, Ben Laughlin, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammed Siraj, Rashid Khan, Pravin Tambe, Ben Cutting, Bipul Sharma, Vijay Shankar Deepak Hooda.

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Head Coach: Tom Moody

Mentor: VVS Laxman