The TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) is almost around the corner, as the tournament is set to begin from March 28. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on the opening day of the competition. Ahead of the first match, there are headaches for the Orange Army, as their regular captain, Pat Cummins, is set to miss some matches.
SRH have named Ishan Kishan as their captain for the games that Pat Cummins will be missing. Abhishek Sharma has been named as the vice-captain for the side. They have the firepower in their batting with the likes of Ishan, Abhishek, Travis Head, Heinrich Klassen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Liam Livingstone. However, their bowling has been weak.
Ishan Kishan to lead Sunrisers Hyderabad
Ishan Kishan has been awarded the captaincy role for his brilliant T20 World Cup form, where he scored 317 runs for India. Last season, he scored 354 runs in 14 matches last season at an average of 35.40 and an impressive strike-rate of 152.58. He has captaincy experience with Jharkhand and led the side to the championship of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
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Talking about the same former India batter, Abhinav Mukund, discussed SRH’s batting and critically analysed the bowling alongside the overall team’s strengths and weaknesses of the Orange Army.
Mukund said, on SRH, “If their batting is a 10, their bowling is a 1, with a very big drop off. Their batting will hurt teams, and it’s the strongest in the competition. Just that makes them dangerous on a flat Hyderabad track.”
They have so many who’ve not even played- Abhinav Mukund
“But the drop-off is too much in the bowling. They have so many who’ve not even played in the IPL. You came with a lot of money to the auction, and you ended up spending it on Liam Livingstone when you already have Klaasen, Head, and Abhishek Sharma.”
Mukund further added, “They have a very inexperienced bowling lineup with guys who aren’t making their own first-class sides. Many are picked based on just scouting from the trials. I am surprised at how they have constructed their team.”
“In the years they’ve done well, they’ve had Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Natarajan doing really well for them. But now it looks like Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat have to front-load this attack.”
SRH has been a batting-heavy side
Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener Faf du Plessis also questioned SRH’s planning of making a side that is batting-heavy and not a more balanced one.
“It’s happened only one season where they shot the lights out with the bat. Last year wasn’t exactly the same in terms of batting returns. They tried the same template of outbatting opponents, but the wickets weren’t as flat, and they didn’t do well as a batting department. I would say that’s a lot of eggs in one basket,” said Faf du Plessis.
“In that, Abhishek is not in great form. Heinrich Klaasen has had a quiet year, and Travis Head has had a quiet World Cup. Liam Livingstone hasn’t done well in the IPL and isn’t even part of the England side. There is a chance this’ll come right, but you are asking a lot.”
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