Sunrisers Hyderabad, which has the likes of Dhawan, Warner and Steyn at their disposal, is one of the most explosive teams of the India Premier League.
Owned by Sun TV Network, Sunrisers are up and running for the kick-off. The team’s think-tank, including Tom Moody (Head Coach), Anil Kumble and Muttiah Muralitharan (bowling Coach) have retained most of their players from the previous seasons.
Sunrisers have a formidable batting line-up with a strong middle order — despite the late withdrawal of former England batsman Kevin Pietersen from the group stages — that could be their bedrock for success.
Their middle-order boasts of New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, English duo of Ravi Bopara, Eoin Morgan and Australian all-rounder Moises Henriques.
Their pace attack will be led by South Africa’s Dale Steyn and New Zealander Trent Boult and will be supported by India’s fast-bowling duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma.
But it is the absence of a quality spinner that could hurt their ambitions. Karn Sharma and Parvez Rasool are yet to prove their mettle on the big stage.
Excessive dependency on foreign players is another weak spot of the Sunrisers. The squad mainly consists of players from New Zealand, and the upcoming New Zealand vs England series in the middle of the IPL can weaken the side considerably.
The team will aim to do considerably better following a lacklustre show last season and hope to end IPL 8 on a high.
Key Players: Shikhar Dhawan, Dale Steyn, Trent Boult, David Warner
Squad: Shikhar Dhawan, Dale Steyn, David Warner (C), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Moises Henriques, Lokesh Rahul, Parvez Rasool, Naman Ojha (wk), Ashish Reddy, Ricky Bhui, Chama Milind, Karn Sharma, Kane Williamson, Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Trent Boult, Praveen Kumar, Hanuman Vihari, Prasanth Padmanabhan, Siddarth Kaul.