IPL 2015 team preview: Sunrisers Hyderabad
Batting strength
| Batsman | Batting Runs Above Average (2014) | Overall batting rank |
|---|---|---|
| DA Warner | 206 | 4 |
| NV Ojha | 71 | 15 |
| S Dhawan | 55 | 19 |
| MC Henriques | -45 | 86 |
| KL Rahul | -49 | 90 |
Bowling strength
| Bowler | Bowling Runs Above Average (2014) | Overall bowling rank |
|---|---|---|
| B Kumar | 252 | 1 |
| KV Sharma | 79 | 15 |
| MC Henriques | 25 | 30 |
| P Kumar | 13 | 32 |
| I Sharma | -10 | 46 |
| LR Shukla | -53 | 60 |
| Parvez Rasool | -53 | 61 |
| DW Steyn | -97 | 70 |
Other notable players: Trent Boult, Eoin Morgan, KS Williamson .
The Sunrisers Hyderabad will potentially have the best opening batting pair in David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan, and the best opening bowling attack with Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and the top wicket taker from the just concluded Cricket World Cup, Trent Boult. This shows that the team has some serious punch in both bowling and batting, and should be in then hunt for the knock-out stage after a largely disappointing season last year.
The team's bowling was one of their weak points last year as they gave away runs at 8.3 runs an over; they did well to pick up Trent Boult in the player auction to correct this weakness. The team had a setback when Kevin Pietersen decided to withdraw from this season. However, his absence should be more than covered by the presence of Kane Williamson and Eoin Morgan on the roster.
Roster management: The four overseas players who will most likely get a place in the final eleven are Steyn, Boult, Warner and Morgan or Williamson. The withdrawal of Pietersen might actually be a blessing in disguise, as they won't have to agonize as much over leaving out the overseas players. The team lacks depth at the wicketkeeper position, with Naman Ojha being the only bonafide backstopper in the team.
Dark horse: Trent Boult might be the real bolt of lightening who finally turns around this season for the Sunrisers. He might turn out to be the best pick-up in this year's IPL auction at a very reasonable price of $630K, even though he has never played in IPL before. If he continues his form from the World Cup, it will mean serious trouble for the opposing batsmen.
Correction: April 7, 2015
An earlier version of the article incorrectly stated that Kane Williamson had withdrawn from this IPL season. The player who has actually withdrawn is Kane Richardson of Rajasthan Royals.
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