Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra believes that Sunrisers Hyderabad has a solid and formidable unit for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL). The Hyderabad-based franchise has acquired Pat Cummins, Travis Head, and Wanindu Hasaranga in the recent IPL auction.
SRH won only four games in the previous season and finished at the bottom of the table. They haven’t made many changes to their squad but have strengthened their overseas contingent by bringing in Pat Cummins (₹20.50 crore) and Travis Head (₹6.80 crore) as their two expensive buys.
The Hyderabad franchise also acquired Jaydev Unadkat for 1.6 crores, Akash Singh for 20 lakh, and Jhathavedh Subramanyan for 20 lakh.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra feels that the SunRisers Hyderabad had a good enough team to make it to the playoffs in the previous edition of the IPL. He expects the Hyderabad side to be title contenders in the upcoming season of the league.
“This is one team that is looking rock solid on paper. The team was good last year as well. If you saw on paper, they were an excellent team. They should have qualified for sure but were revolving around the bottom of the table.”
“When the team was good last year, didn’t release too many players, and have strengthened the team even further, they should reach the top four. I won’t be surprised at all if they are seen close to the podium,” Aakash Chopra said.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad team management might find it challenging to get the right combination for the upcoming season after a poor campaign in 2023, as they have at least six to seven overseas players who could play every game.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Steal Of The Auction Was Wanindu Hasaranga – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra has expressed his belief that Wanindu Hasaranga was an excellent bargain purchase for the SunRisers Hyderabad team. He thinks that the Sri Lankan all-rounder could be used as the team’s fourth overseas player, alongside Pat Cummins, Travis Head, and Heinrich Klaasen.
“Their steal of the (auction) day was Wanindu Hasaranga because they got him at his base price of 1.50 crores, which wasn’t a chance at all. It became a very good buy because they had Mayank Markande, Washington Sundar and now they have Wanindu Hasaranga.”
“If they want, they can leave Marco Jansen and Glenn Phillips out because they can play Abdul Samad there. So they can play Wanindu Hasaranga, Washington Sundar and Mayank Markande. That makes it three spinners and then Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik and Pat Cummins,” Aakash Chopra added.
Although Pat Cummins will bring much-needed experience and strength to their bowling attack, there is a question of whether Hyderabad really needed another foreign pacer, given that they already have Marco Jansen and Fazalhaq Farooqi. It has been widely reported that the World Cup-winning captain would take up the mantle of captaincy, replacing Aiden Markram.
