IPL 2020: Confidence High in Hyderabad's Hard Hitters
IPL 2020: Confidence High in Hyderabad's Hard Hitters
After a run to the playoffs in the 2019 IPL season, Sunrisers Hyderabad has wasted no time in revitalising their efforts to re-establish themselves as kings of the sport. This is how the dark horses for the 2020 IPL title currently stand, in terms of prospects and personnel.
IPL Prospects for 2020
Sunrisers Hyderabad has a proud history of entertaining and attaining, with an uncompromising approach to showmanship largely rewarded since the team debuted in the IPL back in 2013. That debut season brought an admirable fourth-place finish, but there would follow two frustrating seasons in which they successively finished sixth.
From almost nowhere, Hyderabad would stun everyone in 2016, with then-captain David Warner leading by example and hitting 848. Ever since that momentous year, they have boasted a great pull factor for foreigners of a similar calibre, and this is reflected in consistent top-four finishes since the triumph of 2016. A top-half finish is a bare minimum that Hyderabad should attain this season, and anything less would give cause for great concern
Despite the power Hyderabad now possesses, December's player auction was not particularly memorable for the Sunrisers, with the main part of their agenda being the recruitment of young native batsmen. The club has clearly taken the decision to look to the future, and gamble on the possibility of their extremely strong foreign contingent staying fit and consistent throughout the 2020 season.
With the middle order being Hyderabad's most obvious bar to success in 2019, this approach stood to reason. There is also the highly desirable by-product of the youthful additions learning from international giants like New Zealand and Hyderabad captain Kane Williamson, meaning that success appears inevitable in the long-term at worst, even if other teams enjoyed a far stronger auction day back in December.
December 2019: Cricbuzz analyses SRH's auction
Key Personnel
While the critics will rightly point to a short-term over-reliance on foreigners, the sheer magnitude of talent they possess automatically heightens Hyderabad's standing amongst Asiabet market options, alongside other metrics that demonstrate the widespread faith in their ability to succeed.
Amongst that pool of foreign players is aforementioned 2016 hero David Warner, whose fearsome rate of fours and sixes almost defies logic. That was certainly the case in the 2019 campaign, at the end of which he topped the runs leaderboard by a margin of 99 – hitting 57 fours and 21 sixes.
Away from the rest of the top order, one batsman who will certainly thrive on watching Warner deliver the goods is left-handed newcomer Virat Singh, who was one of the 'future talents' picked at auction for ₹1.9 crores. Though he likely made his senior debut prematurely as a 16-year old, he is all the stronger and more resilient for it, showing excellent strokeplay throughout the entirety of the last twelve months.
Most experts are, however, unified in identifying Pryian Garg as the real one to watch. Currently India's U19 World Cup captain, Garg is already noted for being strong in the middle overs, and it is only a matter of time before he becomes a regular in the senior international setup. Such a feeling is justified with aplomb by his ability to unsettle spinners and his preference – not unlike Warner – to favour targeting the boundaries
Rashid Khan is arguably the most coveted bowler on the entire IPL roster. He has the experience and documented success in a multitude of major T20 leagues and has few earthly equals in the limited-overs format. Inside three years of making his limited-overs debut, Khan was averaging an economy rate of just over 6.0 but has always carried the ability to take wickets at vital moments.
Vitally for Hyderabad, Khan represents the 'new breed' of leg-spinner, sticking with great consistency to the flat, fast delivery which is always short, but still unpredictable, in its post-bounce trajectory. The typical speed of his delivery also exceeds the 90 kph barrier, thanks to his efforts in perfecting a long run-up that can make even experienced batsmen wilt.
All-rounder Jonny Bairstow thrived alongside Warner in 2019, flaunting his skills as a wicket-keeper, despite initially starting out as a solid middle-order batsman with England. He has retained his skill on the offensive nonetheless, and with around one in four deliveries approached with an attacking motion, Bairstow should once more prove invaluable for Hyderabad.
June 2019: Bairstow steals the show against India, en-route to England's World Cup triumph.
How Hyderabad compare
The 2019 season was an illustration of why Hyderabad's squad depth is still a work in progress. The gamble to pair David Warner with Jonny Bairstow was one that reaped clear dividends, with some high-scoring performances. However, they could not always be effective, and as evidenced by a run of eight defeats in the last 11 IPL games of 2019, the batsmen behind them were all but sitting ducks if either man suffered a dismissal.
Overall, Hyderabad is currently jostling with the Chennai Super Kings as the second-likeliest team to win the IPL in 2020. The Super Kings notably bears many similarities to Hyderabad, having chosen to retain most of the players on the roster, while focusing on the future with a kitty of just over ₹14.5 crores for December's player auction.
Only the current reigning champions Mumbai Indians are considered likelier to win the title, having shown the true power of their top order last year. In theory, other teams should be genuinely challenging for the title alongside Hyderabad, on the back of strong auctions after a poor 2019 season.
The Kings XI Punjab, for instance, took an uncompromising approach to the auction, going all-out to purchase Glenn Maxwell, a universally respected all-rounder and a reliable figure in the lower order. Fellow Punjab newcomer Sheldon Cotrell, of the West Indies, carries a reputation as an expert bowler of the new ball.
Even so, they are still far less exalted as title contenders than Hyderabad.
While that reflects a good degree of confidence in Hyderabad's playoff prospects, the title race itself remains difficult to predict, especially with the underachievers of 2019 naturally feeling compelled to spend big at the auction. Whether teams like the Kings XI have done that at the cost of continuity and team spirit, to the benefit of Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai, remains to be seen.