Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) come into IPL 2024 with renewed confidence that they can win the coveted trophy after the wild ride of the previous three seasons. The Orange Army has had mixed results despite the changes in leadership, which include Aiden Markram, Kane Williamson, and David Warner.
The Orange Army bid 20.50 crore for Australia’s 2023 World Cup winning captain Pat Cummins during the IPL 2024 Auction in Dubai. After observing Cummins’ outstanding leadership during the World Cup, the SRH team management have decided to hand the Australian the team’s captaincy. SRH open their IPL 2024 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders on March 23 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
How Sunrisers Hyderabad squad for IPL 2024 look?
SRH held on to most of their players before the IPL 2024 auction and made some smart signings in the auction to make sure they have one of the most balanced squad of the tournament. SRH’s batting line-up will be one of the most accomplished in the tournament with players like Travis Head and Mayank Agarwal ready to provide the team with a brisk start.
The middle order boasts of some serious power hitters including Aiden Markram, Henrich Klaasen, young Indian Abdul Samad and veteran Rahul Tripathi. Each one of them have the ability to turn any game on it’s head.
Their bowling department is just as strong as their batting line-up if not more. Led by captain Pat Cummins, they also have Bhuvneshwar Kumar who is the master of swing and raw pace in the form of Umran Malik. Their spin department is strong too, with players like Wanindu Hasaranga and Washington Sundar capable of making huge impacts.
SRH’s Performance in Last years
2016’s champion Sunrisers Hyderabad has struggled for form in recent years. After emerging as champions in 2016, SRH qualified for the playoffs in 2017 and made it to the finals in 2018 but lost out to Chennai Super Kings. SRH have not qualified for the playoffs in the last three seasons and will give it their all this time around to break into the top bracket.
Team SRH SWOT Analysis:
Strength
Oversees recruits – SRH have a wonderful roster when it comes to overseas recruits. At IPL 2024 auction, SRH paid 6.80 crore to acquire the services of Aussie opener Travis Head. The southpaw will probably open the innings along with Mayank Agarwal. Star South African batters Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram, who are renowned for their aggressive batting techniques, are positioned in the middle order, making it a fantastic batting line-up altogether.
In the bowling line-up, SRH picked up their captain Pat Cummins for 20.50 Crore at the IPL 2024 Mini Auction. Cummins will lead the SRH line-up. Wanindu Hasaranga is another shrewd oversees recruitment that can come in handy in times of need.
Lethal fast-bowling department – With the addition of Captain Pat Cummins to the squad, which also included Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Umran Malik, SRH’s fast bowling unit is looking extremely lethal. Not to be forgotten are T. Natarajan and Fazalhaq Farooqi who can bowl at pace. A lot of SRH’s bowlers are capable of bowling faster than 145 kmph, which puts other teams in danger and amplifies the effect of the Two Bouncer Rule.
Multiple Leaders – SRH have multiple leaders in their line-up. Pat Cummins, who led Australia to glory in ODI World Cup 2023, has been handed the armband ahead of the tournament. Apart from Cummins, SRH’s previous captain Aiden Markram is very well adept at leading teams. He proved it in the recently concluded SA20 when he led SRH’s sister franchise Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the trophy. Not to forget Wanindu Hasaranga, who is the captain of Sri Lanka’s T20 team.
Weaknesses
Weak spin bowling department– Most of SRH’s successes have come due to their spin bowling prowess. The Hyderabad franchise boasted spinners of the calibre of Rashid Khan, Akeal Hosein and Adil Rashid. However, they are weak in this regard in this edition, with their best spinner Washington Sundar being injury prone. They will need to come up with a solution to this problem this time around.
Inconsistency in middle-order – The middle order’s inconsistent play exposes a weakness in SRH’s otherwise formidable batting lineup. While players like Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen showed flashes of brilliance in 2023, their performances lacked the steady rhythm required to consistently put up winning totals. For SRH to succeed in 2024, striking the correct mix between stability and aggression and forming alliances that maximize the contributions of the openers will be essential.
Key Players of SRH
Pat Cummins – Bought for a whopping 20.50 crores, Pat Cummins will have a major role to play if SRH need to become the best version of themselves. Cummins will lead the SRH bowling attack and can very well play a meaningful role lower down the order in times of need. Perhaps its best to not expect the Aussie skipper to stem the flow of runs, but Cummins has the knack of picking up wickets when it matters.
Travis Head – Travis Head became the enemy number 1 of India when he played a skilful innings in the ODI World Cup final to dash the Indian hopes of lifting the trophy. However, the explosive opener can very well provide the start SRH has been yearning for from their openers. Trust the southpaw to smash some balls out of the park in the upcoming IPL 2024.
Heinrich Klaasen – Heinrich Klaasen was in dazzling form in the SA20 2024 and SRH fans can expect the middle-order batter to carry his form in IPL 2024. The Proteas batter scored 447 runs in the SA20 tournament and will provide the much-needed depth in the SRH batting department in times of need.
SRH Squad for IPL 2024
Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Sanvir Singh, Heinrich Klaasen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Agarwal, T. Natarajan, Anmolpreet Singh, Mayank Markande, Upendra Singh Yadav, Umran Malik, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Travis Head, Wanindu Hasaranga, Pat Cummins, Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh, Jhathavedh Subramanyan
SRH Fixtures in IPL 2024
| DATE | Day | Home | Away | VENUE | TIME |
| March 23 | SAT | KKR | SRH | Kolkata | 19:30 |
| March 27 | WED | SRH | MI | Hyderabad | 19:30 |
| March 31 | SUN | GT | SRH | Ahmedabad | 15:30 |
| April 05 | FRI | SRH | CSK | Hyderabad | 19:30 |
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