Transfers made – 2; Transfers remaining – 36
Andre Russell out – David Warner in
Chris Morris out – Mustafizur Rahman in
Karun Nair out – Rajat Bhatia in (combination pick using uncapped trick)
Batting/ Full match captain – David Warner
Bowling captain – Mustafizur Rahman
Batting captaincy options – David Warner and Kane Williamson
Against a bowling attack as good as the Sunrisers’, the Gujarat Lions’ top order batsmen need to have plenty of luck to deliver. I don't see value in gambling on it, and hence, I have decided to leave all of Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch and Suresh Raina out. One of them might well come off, but given they all have their weaknesses, there is no right logic that can help me predict it here.
Kane Williamson would be one of my first picks if he opens, but at one down, not so much. Even if one of Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner gets out fast, the Kiwi captain has Dwayne Bravo to deal with at the death.
Or maybe I could have just said it doesn’t make sense to captain anyone else except Warner here?
Bowling captaincy options – Dwayne Bravo, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mustafizur Rahman
The Lions are already done with the majority of their matches and the remaining ones are well spread out, so bringing in Bravo now might not help. I will have to just hope Bravo doesn’t wreak havoc today.
Between Mustafizur and Bhuvneshwar, the former is more lethal and therefore gets my nod.
Nature of the deck – Flat
Uncapped options – Pravin Tambe and Shivil Kaushik
Sunrisers Hyderabad – Fantasy Clinchers
Either Ashish Reddy or Deepak Hooda will be making way for a fit Yuvraj Singh. Given how much faith Tom Moody has shown in Hooda despite his disappointing performances so far, I would like to think it will be Reddy. As far as picking Yuvraj is concerned, it is advisable to see where and how he is played.
Yuvraj’s entry might further reduce the fantasy potential of Moises Henriques, who has already been demoted to play the finisher’s role. However, the big-hitting form he showed against Royal Challengers Bangalore would come off as a great news for the franchise that badly needs batting back-up to support Warner.
With Yuvraj and Hooda providing decent spin options, they might well stick with the four frontline fast bowlers’ theory, which worked wonders for them against RCB. What also favours this is the nature of the deck here and the not-so-great slow bowling options they have on their bench.
Gujarat Lions – Fantasy Clinchers
My reports suggest that Bravo is fit, and that's something they badly need if they are to stand a chance in this match. James Faulkner is likely to make way for him.
I have been saying this for a while now – the Lions need to replace Ishan Kishan with a proper batsman or a proper bowler. The former U-19 Indian captain adds very little to the team and clearly appears rushed up to this level. Brad Hodge and Suresh Raina, who have been doing exceptionally well so far in managing this team, would do well to realise it.
Match call – Sunrisers Hyderabad to win.
