Sunrisers Hyderabad – Auction Prediction for SRH!

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Founded in 2012, the Sunrisers Hyderabad quickly became a force in the IPL, winning their maiden title in 2016 under the leadership of David Warner, defeating RCB in a thrilling final. Known for their strong bowling attacks, SRH will be hoping to build one, once again.

SRH’s iconic players include Warner, their all-time leading run-scorer; Rashid Khan, a wizard with the ball; and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, a swing king and two-time Purple Cap winner. Other stars like Kane Williamson and Shikhar Dhawan added class and stability.

Nicknamed the “Orange Army,” SRH plays at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, backed by passionate fans.

SRH Retentions:

• Heinrich Klaasen: 23 Crore
• Pat Cummins: 18 crore
• Travis Head: 14 crore
• Abhishek Sharma: 14 crore
• Nitish Kumar Reddy: 6 crore

Players Released:

Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram*, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips*, Mayank Agarwal, Anmolpreet Singh, Upendra Singh Yadav, Marco Jansen*, Washington Sundar, Sanvir Singh, Wanindu Hasaranga*, Akash Singh, Shahbaz Ahamad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi*, Jaydev Unadkat, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, Mayank Markande, Jhathavedh Subramanyan, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth

*Overseas Player

Sunrisers Hyderabad – Ultimate Goal:

• From their retentions, it is obvious that Hyderabad want to retain its ultra-attacking instincts with their partnership between Head and Abhishek to be back once more.
• With the retentions of Nitsh Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, they have made sure they already have a solid core of batters to build around.

• Being able to retain Nitish Kumar Reddy for just 6 crore was a massive bonus and helped the balance of their side.
• With their retentions, SRH have the bases covered for 15 overs with the bat and are looking at 6-7 overs with the ball per game.

Sunrisers Hyderabad and their Requirements:

• The Sunrisers Hyderabad require a death bowler, a spin bowler and a middle-order batter.
• Their issue in 2024 centred around the lack of a quality T20 spinner, while Shahbaz Ahmed held up his end of the bargain, taking 7 wickets with an economy under 10, the lack of an attacking spin option showed.
• An Indian middle-order batter is the need of the hour for Hyderabad, who can blend attack and defence seamlessly while taking the attack to the opposition often enough.

Possible XI:

1. Travis Head
2. Abhishek Sharma
3. Indian Batter
4. Nitish Kumar Reddy
5. Heinrich Klaasen (WK)
6. Indian Batter/ All Rounder
7. Indian Batter/ All Rounder
8. Overseas Spinner
9. Pat Cummins
10. Indian Spinner
11. Indian Pacer

With just 45 crore as they head into the auction, Hyderabad need to fill at least 13 spots in the auction and below are the players they could look to target at the upcoming auction.

Possible Purchases:

SRH need to fill the overseas spinner role and they will likely splurge, leading to the Indian batting options at 3, 6 and 7 being more low-key Indians who won’t fetch massive sums at the auction. Their options are:

• Venkatesh Iyer – Venky Iyer was brilliant for KKR in 2024, in the middle overs, he scored a boundary once every 5.83 balls, a boundary every over, while his strike rate during this phase was 142.14. His average of 66.3 in the middle overs highlights how often he was able to seamlessly bat through and last until the death setting up a great base. With a dot percentage of 31%, he also made sure he wasn’t bogged down for long periods.

• Nehal Wadhera – Wadhera made a name for himself at Mumbai, and his strike rate of 132 was not as good as Iyer, but he is a long-term investment the franchise could look at, regularly finding the boundary, he gets one once every 5.72 balls! Wadhera’s strike rate jumps up to 166 in the middle overs against pace, and with Klaasen handling the spin, Wadhera and Klaasen will dovetail well during this period.

• Rahul Tripathi – Tripathi’s strike rate of 144 makes him an attractive option for the Sunrisers to go after, while a batting average of 36.89 suggests he lasts long enough. A balls-per-boundary ratio of 5.43 makes him the most aggressive option the Sunrisers can look to go for!

• Abdul Samad – The J&K batter is a retention option for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, and while his raw numbers do not stand out, his ability to bat against pacers does. A strike rate of 170.43 vs pace, along with a boundary scored every 4.15 balls, he might be someone SRH look at as a finisher.

• Shahbaz Ahmed – He had his best IPL season to date, having taken 7 wickets an at economy under 10 and scored 215 runs, averaging 24 at a strike rate of 130, a handy all-round player, Shahbaz could be a steal at the auction and a player SRH will be targeting.

• Wanindu Hasaranga – Not much needs to be said about Hasaranga, but his form in 2024 is very promising, taking a wicket once every 14 balls through this phase, his economy of just 6.7 means he comes into this auction in hot form! With the lack of a spinner being a massive issue for SRH, getting Hasaranga back may solve their issues.

• T Natarajan – Natarajan is another retention option the Sunrisers Hyderabad could go for, with 63.51% of his wickets coming at the Death, he was the go-to death bowler for Hyderabad for a while, and his ability to bowl yorkers is impressive as well, bowling the yorker 21% of the times at the death, once every 5 balls!

• Yuzvendra Chahal –  Chahal takes 95% of his wickets in the middle overs, a region the Sunrisers Hyderabad were looking to improve last season, and with Chahal being experienced, they may be able to snatch a bargain if they look to purchase Chahal at the auction! His economy of 7.48 and average of 25.58 since 2020 makes him a great choice.