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ToggleSunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are likely to retain their core players ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction which is scheduled to take place later this year. SRH managed to reach the final of the IPL 2024 where they lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Before the mega-auction, SRH will keep a total of five players. The primary players that will be retained by the franchise are wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen, captain Pat Cummins, and openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma.
Heinrich Klaasen set to be first retention for Sunrisers Hyderabad over Pat Cummins
Heinrich Klaasen, rather than Pat Cummins, is expected to be the team’s first retention. Klaasen is a sought-after commodity on the T20 circuit, thanks to his exceptional batting against spin. With a stroke-filled innings, the South African hitter almost won the T20 World Cup 2024 for his country.
Klaasen had brought the equation to run-a-ball in the game’s 15th over, scoring 52 off 27 balls. Klaasen’s collapse in that game came from a bad shot against Hardik Pandya in the 17th over, which caught him behind.
Under Cummins’ leadership, SRH was able to turn around its fortunes and reach the IPL final for the first time since 2018. Much of the success was down to Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, who were able to break the shackles and build great partnerships for the opening wicket.
While Head scored 567 runs in 15 matches with a strike rate of 191.55, his opening partner Sharma scored 484 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 204.21, while Klaasen finished with 479 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 191.5.
Pat Cummins grabbed 18 wickets in 16 games for SRH while demonstrating exceptional captaincy skills.
Nitish Kumar Reddy to also be retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad
SRH will keep 21-year-old all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy to develop an Indian core for the coming seasons. Reddy has only spent two seasons in the Indian Premier League. SRH paid only Rs 20 lakh for the player at the 2023 auction.
SRH hoped to keep the player as one of their untapped stars, but they had to restructure their finances after the all-rounder made his debut for India in the T20I series against Bangladesh.
Nitish Reddy performed admirably in the T20I series, collecting the Player of the Match award in New Delhi. Nitish scored 74 runs off 34 balls against Najmul Shanto and took two wickets after bowling four overs.
The all-rounder has been likened to Hardik Pandya since his amazing IPL 2024 season, and the national squad is also preparing him for red-ball cricket.
The deadline for announcing the retentions for all franchises is October 31, 2024. The IPL auction is expected to take place in the last week of November at a foreign venue.
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