The all new Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Sunrisers Hyderabad will be desperate to prove that they are strong contenders and put an end to the dismal run till date

The stage is all set for the commencement of the ninth edition of the exhilarating T20 circus; the Indian Premier League (IPL) will begin this Saturday. In keeping with its bid to move up rankings and earn some respectability, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) has drawn up an ambitious roadmap with which it hopes to ride to the pinnacle, although the going could be tougher than what the team management is assuming it to be.

Since debuting in the sixth edition (replacing Deccan Chargers), the Hyderabad-headquartered franchise has finished sixth in the seventh and eighth seasons, which is not exactly inspirational. In a variety where an over or even a ball can tilt the scales and impact the proceedings to extraordinary levels (Carlos Brathwaite’s breathtaking out-of-the-world blitzkrieg, for instance), T20 stands as a classic symbol of the oft-stated ‘no match is won till the last ball is bowled’ remark. Sunrisers will be hoping for such miracles to keep the team spirit alive and perhaps take it to the knockout stage.

SRH opens its campaign against the most talented team that is yet to hold aloft the glittering cup, Royal Challengers Bangalore, in an away match on April 12. It will host its first match on April 16 when the team crosses swords with two-time champion, Kolkata Knight Riders.

On the face of it, the team has invested its money quite smartly, thanks to which it has been able to knit a good blend of experience and youthful exuberance. Undoubtedly, they have bet big on proven match-winner Yuvraj Singh. Although being in the injured list, the swashbuckling southpaw is likely to join the party only later into the tournament. So heavily the team is dependent on him to make any meaningful headway that in case he fails to recover fast, the prospects of the team could take a double-beating.

The team composition indicates that they have gone in for batsmen and all-rounders, which could possibly have an adverse impact in crunch situations when the onus will be on the bowlers to deliver and turn the tide. In Shikhar Dhawan, skipper David Warner and Kane Williamson and all-rounders of the ability of Eoin Morgan, Moises Henriques, Deepak Hoods and Yuvraj himself, SRH boasts of a handsome number of potential winners.

Aashish Nehra, the only Indian apart from Virat Kohli to figure in the latest Dream World T20 team, is a battle-scarred veteran but there are serious doubts if he can successfully shoulder the bowling attack, given his notoriously inconsistent track-record. The release of old warhorse Dale Steyn (who can be devastating despite age catching up with him) could prove to be a strategic disaster. This becomes more pronounced if one goes by the line-up that consists of Trent Boult, Mustafizur Rahman, Abhimanyu Mithun, Barinder Sran and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

The Indians link-Hooda, Aditya Tare, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ashish Nehra, Mustafizur Rahman, Barinder Sran, Aditya Tare, Naman Ojha and T Suman-is nothing exceptional. Their limitations could be exposed when pitted against formidable foreign imports. Of course, the newly acquired untested material can perform on a given day, although, the awe-struck youngsters could perish amid the high-voltage expectations. Such tricky situations have even taken a toll of the finest of players, particularly on their off-days.

The new-look SRH will be desperate to prove that they are strong contenders and put an end to the dismal run till date. In spite of oozing confidence, and the possibility of them creating an upset here and there, it is way too difficult to bracket Sunrisers Hyderabad as the possible title contenders, the topsy-turvy nature of the shortest form of the game, notwithstanding.

Squad: Ashish Reddy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Bipul Sharma, Karn Sharma, Naman Ojha, Ricky Bhui, Shikhar Dhawan, Siddharth Kaul, David Warner (c), Moises Henriques, Eoin Morgan, Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra, Deepak Hooda, Mustafizur Rahman, Aditya Tare, Barinder Singh Sran, Ben Cutting, Vijay Shankar, Abhimanyu Mithun, Tirumalsetti Suman.