VVS Laxman bullish about Sunrisers Hyderabad success

Vangipurappu Venkata Sai (VVS) Laxman

Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor and former Indian batsman VVS Laxman is extremely confident of a stellar show by the Hyderabad-based franchise in IPL 7 this time around. The Shikhar Dhawan-led team had a great start to IPL, after being inducted into the league only last year, reaching the knock-out rounds. With the arrival of David Warner, Aaron Finch and Irfan Pathan, they are one of the forces to reckon with in the upcoming IPL season.

Bullish about his team’s chances, the 39-year-old was quoted as saying by the New Indian Express: “It’s going to be an exciting season, the reason being that last year the players played with a lot of fighting spirit. They were in the last four and the top performers have been retained. The additions are talented and proven match winners. I’m sure the combination is good and the target will definitely be to win the tournament.”

Laxman said that the franchise’s auction strategy was based on two factors: “One, the players who have got great skills in this format and second, players who come and straightway get into the environment which we created last year. We are pleased that we got that kind of players.”

On appointing West Indian skipper Darren Sammy as the deputy to Dhawan, Laxman said: “Darren was very much instrumental in our success last year, not only by his performances on the field but his contribution off it was immense. He has been an exceptional team man. That is why we felt he was the ideal candidate to support Shikhar as vice-captain.”

The Sunrisers mentor did not look too concerned about Dhawan’s poor run of form, which saw him getting dropped midway through the just concluded World Cup T20. He said: “Shikhar is a class player. There is no doubt that he will bounce back strongly. It will be a great opportunity for him to come back to form in the IPL. For someone like his class, it requires one good innings to come back into rhythm.”

On the effect that the first phase of the tournament which will take place in the UAE will have, Laxman said: “It won’t be too much of a challenge unlike playing in South Africa and then coming back to India. In that case, the conditions would have been different and it would have been difficult to adapt to Indian conditions immediately.”

Sunrisers took everyone by surprise by shelling out Rs 3.75 crores to buy leg-spinner Karan Sharma. Here is what Laxman had to say on the move: “Karan Sharma was bought back because he bowled well last season. With the leg-spinners Amit Mishra and Karn bowling in tandem, it’s always very good for the team. They are different kind of bowlers but complement each other.”