Probable Playing XI
- Rahul Tripathi
- Abhishek Sharma/Priyam Garg
- Kane Williamson* ©
- Aiden Markram*/Glenn Phillips*
- Nicholas Pooran*
- Abdul Samad
- Romario Shepherd*/Marco Jansen*
- Washington Sundar
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- T Natarajan/Shreyas Gopal
- Umran Malik/Kartik Tyagi
Strengths
- They have an electrifying Indian pace battery of Bhuvi, Natarajan, Umran Malik, and Kartik Tyagi.
- Experienced, well-rounded middle order.
- Some promising young Indian batsmen grace the potential top order.
- They bat deep, with Washington Sundar potentially playing all the way down at No.8.
Weaknesses
- They might be over reliant on their overseas batsmen. The only remotely experienced Indian batsman in this squad is Rahul Tripathi.
- The spin department is virtually non-existent outside of Washington Sundar.
- Their Top 4 might not be as aggressive as they would like.
Opportunities
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar would hope to have a resurrection of his T20 career this year, and the best place to start would be the biggest T20 tournament in the world.
- Washington Sundar the batsman might shine this season. They might even try him out as an opener!
Threats
- Bhuvi, Natarajan, and Washington Sundar are all injury-prone. They are all integral to this SRH bowling lineup, and the loss of any of them might be really harmful for them.
- Nicholas Pooran has been in poor form recently, and adding the pressure of the price tag to his mind might be a recipe for disaster.
- Rahul Tripathi and Abhishek Sharma both haven’t had a consistent run as openers in the IPL.
Final Word
SRH has managed to put together quite a decent squad after remaining silent for a long time in the auction. The main point of concern for SRH might be injuries, but if they can remain injury-free, they definitely have a chance to make it to the playoffs. But for that, they need their Indian core to step up big time. For me, SRH are the underdogs this year. In my rankings, they finish 6th but to be honest, they could finish anywhere, they’re so dynamic.