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Sunrisers Hyderabad signed former Australian batter Simon Katich as their new assistant coach ahead of the IPL Auction 2022. Katich was the head coach of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2021, and before joining RCB, was a member of the Kolkata Knight Riders coaching staff.
The 46-year-old from Western Australia played 56 Tests, 45 ODIs and three T20Is during his international career. Simon made his international debut for Australia against Zimbabwe on January 21, 2001. His last appearance in international cricket came in 2010, while he played his last domestic game in February 2014.
After retirement, Simon Katich has tried his luck in coaching and has been very successful. He won the Caribbean Premier League as Trinbago Knight Riders' coach in 2018, while in the IPL, RCB finished in the Top 4 with Katich as their coach.
Now that the Aussie has joined the Sunrisers Hyderabad backroom staff, he will be keen to sign some players who once played under him in other franchises and performed exceptionally well. Here's a list of three players Sunrisers Hyderabad could target on Simon Katich's advice:
#1 Devdutt Padikkal - Played under Simon Katich for RCB
Devdutt Padikkal played a massive role in the Royal Challengers Bangalore's success over the last two seasons. He made his IPL debut in 2020 and won the Emerging Player of the Season award. In 2021, Padikkal notched up his maiden IPL ton and soon made his international debut.
Simon Katich is a big fan of Devdutt Padikkal. In one of his interviews during IPL 2020, Katich heaped praise on Padikkal and said:
"He is a very talented young player, he has a big future in front of him and we are seeing a start of it in this IPL."
Since SRH's new batting coach Brian Lara also loves Padikkal's batting, it should not be a surprise if the Indian opener joins the Orange Army soon.
#2 Nitish Rana - Played under Simon Katich for KKR
Simon Katich was the assistant coach of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2019. Although KKR could not win the title that season, some players of the team performed brilliantly, and one of them was the team's Indian all-rounder Nitish Rana.
Nitish scored 344 runs in 11 innings for KKR at a strike rate of 146.38. He also picked up three wickets for the team. Since Katich would have observed Rana closely at KKR, he may suggest his name to the SRH team management for IPL 2022 Auction.
#3 Ali Khan - Played under Simon Katich for TKR
American fast bowler Ali Khan has made a name for himself with his fine performances in the bowling department. Khan is a right-arm fast bowler who was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2020 but did not make his IPL debut.
The 31-year-old regularly plays T20 matches. Overall, he has played 48 T20s, scalping 53 wickets, including one four-wicket haul.
Khan was the best bowler for Trinbago Knight Riders when they won the CPL 2018 trophy under Simon Katich. He picked up 16 wickets in 12 innings at an economy rate of 7.80.
SRH's team management has hinted that they will invest in new players going forward, so signing Ali Khan at the IPL Auction 2022 may not be a bad idea.
