Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are currently (April 5) locking horns with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Match 18 of the ongoing IPL 2024 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
SRH skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and decided to bowl first in front of their home supporters. Cummins’ side endured a tough loss against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in their last league game.
Upon asking about the changes SRH made in their clash against CSK, Cummins revealed that opening batter Mayank Agarwal is unwell and won’t participate against the Super Kings. The right-hander is replaced by Nitish Reddy, who made his IPL debut last season.
“We’ll bowl first. Looks like a good wicket and should stay the same for the whole match. We’ve got a great squad. Mayank Agarwal is unwell, he’s replaced by Nitish Reddy,” said Cummins at the toss. Cummins even elucidated that T Natarajan has come back to the side.
Why is Travis Head not in the starting XI for SRH?
Interestingly, SRH’s playing lineup doesn’t involve Travis Head, their star performer, who has struck at a phenomenal strike rate of 213.16 so far this season. While the Orange Army will do enjoy the return of T. Natarajan, who missed out in the last two SRH games, Head’s exclusion from the starting lineup raised eyebrows for some fans.
However, Head is more or less likely to take part in the later part of the match. The Australian World Cup winner is on SRH’s ‘Impact Sub’ list and is expected to get substituted in the second innings, when SRH’s turn comes to bat.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad, Nitish Reddy, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins(c), Jaydev Unadkat, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, T Natarajan
Sunrisers Hyderabad Subs: Travis Head, Umran Malik, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tripathi