With a reset, can Sunrisers move on from a forgettable last season?

Squad Depth

Possible Starting XI

What works for SRH?

•    SRH have three left-handers in the top-7 in their best XI. Thus, they have enough flexibility to counter match-ups.

•    Lots of flexibility in the top-4. Quite a few players are able to fit in any of those positions. This will provide options to play around with and assign roles.

•    Kane Williamson is a capable anchor against all bowling types. He is adept at switching roles based on conditions and game situations.

•    Rahul Tripathi had an excellent IPL 2021 at number three averaging 28.4 and a strike rate of 140.3.

•    2021 T20 World Cup was a breakthrough tournament for Aiden Markram. He established himself as a number four player averaging in the 50s and striking against pace at 160.

•    Nicholas Pooran and Abdul Samad are good hitters against most bowling types and are particularly good against pace.

•    Sunrisers have seven genuine bowling options in the best XI. Eight if we can count Samad’s leg-spin.

•    There are multiple left-arm pace options that adds variety. There is a tall, left-arm pacer like Jansen to cover middle and death overs and there is a Yorker specialist in T Natarajan.

•    Washington Sundar can accompany Bhuvneshwar Kumar to for a stable bowling partnership during the Powerplay.

•    Umran Malik is a high pace option who can complement what Jansen and Bhuvneshwar provide. 

Where SRH might struggle?

•    There is a lot of responsibility on youngsters. Abdul Samad and Abhishek Sharma will need a big leap to ensure Sunrisers have a competitive batting line-up with reliable Indian options. 

•    The top three in the can be bogged down by spin. Thus, teams can choke them with spin upfront. It is possible that they are not looking for Abhishek Sharma as an opening option that can further make their susceptible to match-ups.

•    Nicholas Pooran was unable to live up to his potential in the lower middle-order but has done well at number three lately. However, Sunrisers will need him to play as a finisher in the absence of other proven options.

•    Shreyas Gopal’s form has been dodgy off late and he lost his place to Rahul Tewatia for the Royals in the last two seasons. Sunrisers might play an extra pacer in his place but that will leave them with Abhishek Sharma – a part-time bowler – as the only match-up for righties.

•    Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been struggling since IPL 2021 and is no longer the threat he once was. Unless he is able to turn the clock back, Sunrisers will be without a pacer capable of bowling in all phases and subsequently lead the attack.

•    What applies to Samad and Abhishek is also fit for Natarajan and Umran Malik. Since his injury in early 2021, Natarajan is yet to repeat the potency displayed during the 2020 season. Sunrisers have shown faith in Malik’s raw pace but he has played only 8 T20s in his career.

•    There is no backup option in any department that looks an intimidating prospect. This becomes important since a lot of players like Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Natarajan (to name a few) are injury-prone.

•    New Zealand are to tour England in early June so Williamson’s availability towards the end might be an issue.