Sunrisers Hyderabad – IPL 2021 Preview

The most happening and the most awaited tournament of the year - IPL 2021 is about to get kickstarted next month. BCCI has already released the IPL 2021 schedule and the wait of the fans is over. The auction for the upcoming season took place on 18th February in Chennai. The auction saw all the franchises spending big except SunRisers Hyderabad. Does this mean they have a plan ready to fight for the title? The IPL betting websites have SRH as their 4th favoured team outright. 10CRIC has odds of 6.50 for SRH.

Let’s find out if SRH is going to prove bookies wrong or another season of IPL title wait is in the cards.

History of SunRisers Hyderabad

The Hyderabad franchise was earlier went as Deccan Chargers. The team was owned by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd. They won the second edition of the IPL under the captaincy of Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist. After the fifth edition of the IPL, the franchise was terminated by IPL governing council for breaching the contract terms.

The Sun TV Network pitched forward to won the bid for the vacant Hyderabad franchise and named it SunRisers Hyderabad. Playing their first IPL under the new franchise, SunRisers qualified for the playoffs. After finishing 6th in the next two seasons, SRH went to win their maiden IPL in 2016 under the captaincy of another Australian David Warner. Since then, they have qualified for playoffs in each season. They even come close to win their second title in 2018, only to lose to Chennai Super Kings by 8 wickets. In the last season of IPL, they lost to Delhi Capitals by 17 runs in the second qualifier.

In their ninth outing, SRH will play under the captaincy of David Warner. They have retained Trevor Bayliss as their head coach and Brad Haddin as their Assistant Coach. VVS Laxman and Muttiah Muralitharan will continue their duties as Batting and Bowling mentor respectively.

SRH IPL 2021 Auction

SunRisers had a quiet auction. SRH released 5 players before the auction - Billy Stanlake, Fabian Allen, Yarra Prithviraj, B Sandeep, and Sanjay Yadav. With a remaining purse of INR 10.75 crore (USD 1.47 million), SRH jumped in the auction to sign three players to fill their 25-men squad. Their main concern was to strengthen the middle order which did not perform as expected last season.

In the early stages of IPL, they tried to sign all-rounder Shivam Dube but lost to Rajsthan Royals as the bidding price soared. They met with the same outcome while trying to sign Adam Milne and Krishnappa Gowtham. They went as desperate as to INR 9 crores (84% of their purse). After failing to sign a single player in the earlier stages, they finally bought the Karnataka spinner and a useful lower-order batsman Jagadeesha Suchith.

SRH finally filled their middle-order void by signing Indian all-rounder Kedar Jadhav for his base price of INR 2 crore (USD 273k). To put a cherry on the top, SRH successfully bid for Afghanistan international Mujeeb Ur Rahman for his base price of INR 1.5 crore (USD 205k).

Players out: Billy Stanlake, Fabian Allen, Yarra Prithviraj, B Sandeep, Sanjay Yadav.

Players in:

Jagadeesha Suchith: Suchith was a part of the 2015 IPL champions Mumbai Indians. He played the entire season for MI picking up 10 wickets in 13 matches at an economy of 8.64. Suchith will provide SRH with a backup for Bhuvneshwar Kumar who has a history of picking injuries at the crucial stages of the tournament.

Kedar Jadhav: SRH hit a jackpot by signing Kedar Jadhav. Jadhav has experience of 87 IPL matches with 1141 runs at a strike rate of 124.15. The Indian international will most probably play all matches for SRH in the upcoming IPL. The management will want Jadhav to solve their middle-order crisis. He will team up with SRH youth Abhishek Sharma and Abdul Samad.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman: SRH made sure to keep their dominance in the spin department by signing the compatriot of their most prolific bowler Rashid Khan. The Afghani off-spinner played 11 games for Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) and picked 14 wickets in 2018. It will be a great task for SRH to team up with the two busiest Afghan international.

Key Players for SunRisers Hyderabad

David Warner: Warner is by far the most valuable player for SRH. The three-time Orange Cap winner (most runs in the IPL 2015, 2017, & 2019), has scored 3819 runs for SRH at a strike rate of 144.98 in 87 matches. The opening batsman has always provided SRH with the start they needed by scoring more than 500 runs in all seven seasons he has played for them.

His availability is under question due to a groin injury he sustained in the Test series against India.

Kane Williamson: The ice-cold Kiwi Williamson is the backbone of SRH top-order. Williamson has an Orange Cap in his bag which he earned after scoring 735 runs in IPL 2018 at an average of 52.50 and a strike rate of 142.44. He will be a choice to captain SRH if David Warner misses the IPL.

Manish Pandey: Signed in 2018, Pandey played a crucial part in SRH’s last campaign and was the second-leading scorer. He has three 50-plus scores in each season for SRH.

Abdul Samad: The Jammu and Kashmir all-rounder is SRH’s most prolific uncapped player. Signed for INR 1.9 crore (USD 270k) in 2020 played 12 games last season scoring crucial 111 runs at a strike rate of 170.76. The management will be expecting him to step up this season to play long innings with similar or higher strike rates.

Jason Holder: Holder played 7 games for SRH last season. He took 14 wickets at an average of 16.64. He will face competition from Mitchell Marsh who will be returning after being ruled out in SRH’s IPL 2020 opener to an ankle injury.

Rashid Khan: Well! The name is enough. Rashid Khan is leading SRH’s bowling attack since the day he was bought in the auction. In 62 IPL matches for SRH, Rashid has taken 75 wickets at an average of 20.49 and an economy of 6.24. His recent stint at Big Bash with the bat has given SRH a high hope to raise the run-rate in the death overs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar: The King of the swing will make a comeback after picking up an injury in the fourth game of SRH. His presence in the team is important to control the run rate of the opposition.

Sandeep Sharma: You might be thinking about Sandeep’s inclusion in the key players’ list. Show some respect to the most underrated player of IPL. He has a mirrored stat as that of Jasprit Bumrah. 92 matches, 109 wickets, 24.27 average, and 7.71 economy rate (Bumrah has 7.41 ER). If he gets a chance, he can turn out to be a match-winner for SRH.

T Natrajan: What a story!! A successful IPL stint followed by a dream debut for India in Australia. T Natrajan has been the finding of the IPL 2020. He will share the new ball with Bhuvneshwar this season. An expert at death bowling. Natrajan will be the key to the SRH bowling attack.

SRH Squad for IPL 2021:

David Warner (c), Abhishek Sharma, Basil Thampi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jonny Bairstow, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Kedar Jadhav, Mujeeb ur Rahman, J Suchith, Shreevats Goswami, Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, T Natarajan, Vijay Shankar, Wriddhiman Saha, Abdul Samad, Mitchell Marsh, Jason Holder, Priyam Garg, Virat Singh

Sunrisers Hyderabad Odds to Win IPL 2021 at 10CRIC

10CRIC has odds of 6.50 for SRH. They are the fourth favourite in the IPL betting circle to win the IPL 2021. This can also mean that SRH is predicted to make up to the playoffs this upcoming season by the bookies. With the team, SRH has built betting on SRH can prove the wisest decision.

Expectations for IPL 2021

With IPL to be planned to play in four stadiums because of the bio-bubble and covid concerns, SRH might not be playing at their home turf. In such a case, the 14 group stage matches will be a difficult task for SRH. Let’s look at a few of their opponents.

1. Chennai Super Kings

SRH is expected to win both games against CSK. CSK struggled in the last season. With a few new inclusions, they will still struggle against the formidable arsenal of SRH.

2. Mumbai Indians

Both games against Mumbai Indians will be extremely tough for SRH. Mumbai who will take the field with a similar setup has better chances to triumph against SRH due to their strong middle-order. SRH will lose both games against the reigning champions.

3. Royal Challengers Banglore

SRH and RCB will most probably share one game each. Though the SRH has a superior bowling attack compared to RCB, their batting line-up has Kohli, de Villiers, Padikkal, and Maxwell. Keeping that in account, SRH will face a difficult battle. At TheTopBookies we will be offering free daily IPL tips, so make sure to visit us regularly before you place your IPL bets!

Conclusion

SRH has a powerful squad with an option for every spot in the team. With so many key players on the team, it will be a huge task for Trevor Bayliss and the team to utilize everyone’s potential and find the winning combination. If you feel lucky and want to bet on SRH to win the IPL 2021 Trophy head to 10CRIC and claim a 100% up to 10,000 INR welcome bonus. Use Exclusive Bonus Code: TTB100 on your first deposit!