IPL 2019: 3 youngsters who could be game-changers for Sunrisers Hyderabad this year

The Sunrisers Hyderabad are one of the newer teams in the IPL, having made their debut in Pepsi IPL 2013. They don't have the star value of teams like CSK or RCB, but they have always managed to build a strong team and have always posed a title threat.

The Orange Army are known for turning talented players into stars, and have made it a point to promote youngsters in their team.

Replacing the Deccan Chargers, the Sunrisers have always had great crowd support at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. David Warner is a crowd favorite too, and the Aussie is at his best at their home ground averaging more than 60.

The Sunrisers were without their talisman last season yet they managed to make it to the playoffs due to Kane Williamson's terrific batting and captaincy coupled with the side's tremendous bowling throughout the season.

There haven't been too many changes to their squad this year, but the ones made have been good ones. They have signed Jonny Bairstow, Martin Guptill, and Wriddhiman Saha, and traded Shikhar Dhawan in return for Vijay Shankar, Shahbaz Nadeem, and Abhishek Sharma.

Here, let's take a look at 3 youngsters who could be game-changers for SRH in IPL 2019.

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#3 Abhishek Sharma

Abhishek Sharma

Abhishek Sharma made a name for himself with his breathtaking hitting in the couple of games he featured in towards the end of last season, playing for the Delhi Capitals. He scored 63 runs in 2 matches averaging 63 with a strike-rate of 190.90 and showed the world how clean a striker of the ball he is.

An U-19 prodigy, Abhishek led India U-19 to the U-19 Asia Cup and was an integral part of the U-19 World Cup victory too.

The 18-year-old, who's also a very accurate left-arm spinner, was traded to SRH along with a couple of other players in return for Dhawan. SRH had a lot of good all-rounders last season but they failed to deliver, and the young Abhishek will be a welcome change for them.

He can do what Yusuf Pathan and Deepak Hooda couldn't do, and if combined with Vijay Shankar, can increase the stability and prowess of the SRH middle order.

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#2 Khaleel Ahmed

Khaleel Ahmed should be used well this season

Khaleel Ahmed has made a lot of inroads into the Indian team as compared to his other SRH counterparts, but surprisingly he played only 1 game last IPL season. Khaleel has been good in short bursts for India, but has been unable to maintain his line and length and is a bit inconsistent.

He was underutilized last season and though SRH's pace attack was very good, they lacked a left-arm pacer and the angle that such a bowler can create. Khaleen could possibly have made a big difference last season.

This year, they might want to rest players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar due to the World Cup. And if Sandeep Sharma and Siddarth Kaul don't perform, Khaleel could be drafted in.

Though Khaleel looks unlikely to make it to the World Cup squad, he can be a strong contender for a backup spot - and SRH must make good use of him this season.

#1 Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan

No matter what the circumstances, Rashid Khan is the biggest game-changer for SRH. The leg- spinner is just 20 years old but is one of the most dependable bowlers in the world and is the biggest source of wickets for any team he plays.

Rashid can turn the ball both ways equally well, and attempts to read him have been futile as he has bamboozled the best in the business. His stock ball is released the same way he bowls the googly and he's very quick through the air, so it's also hard to read the ball off the pitch.

Ever since he made his debut couple of years ago, Rashid has become a star and has excelled for both SRH and his national team. Rashid has also become a handy batsman and can score some runs in the lower order while continuing with his tremendous form with the ball.

He's remarkably mature for his age and is reliable even in high-pressure situations, capable of bowling at all stages of the game. He's certainly the biggest game-changer for SRH irrespective of his age.