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The SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) have just not been able to find a stable core to build on ever since making their last appearance in the playoffs during IPL 2020. The likes of Kane Williamson and Aiden Markram weren't able to lead the team to the levels that David Warner had when they won the title in 2016.
SRH finished rock bottom of the IPL 2023 season despite having one of the most formidable squads on paper and the owners decided to pull the trigger on Markram's captaincy. They have now entrusted Australian pacer Pat Cummins to take over the reins in a big to get back into the race to winning the title.
Just like any other IPL team, the SunRisers Hyderabad certainly have some key players who need to turn up consistently for them to recreate their glory days. On that note, let's take a look at five such players:
#5 Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar seems to have disappeared from the radar of the Indian team across all formats. He had a decent IPL 2023 season, with 16 wickets from 14 games. However, the SunRisers certainly need a lot more from the veteran pacer and he will have a point to prove.
Given his expertise with the new ball, Bhuvneshwar's impact on the powerplay is once again crucial. How he partners up with skipper Pat Cummins is also important if the latter shares the new ball.
#4 Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins has an impressive CV as a leader as he has won the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup. However, his leadership skills in the shortest format aren't really tested and that's why it feels like a punt from SRH.
Cummins also doesn't have a great IPL record, with 45 wickets from 42 games at an economy rate of 8.54. However, leadership could bring the best out of him as a pacer and also as someone who can come down the order and hit a few lusty blows. After being purchased for in excess of INR 20 crore, Cummins may also have to deal with the pressure of the price tag.
#3 Travis Head
Australian opener Travis Head broke millions of Indian hearts in the 2023 World Cup final with a sensational counter-attacking hundred. However, he also showed a glimpse of the damage he can do in Indian conditions if he gets going. While he hasn't set the stage ablaze in the IPL so far, Head could have a breakout IPL 2024.
SRH spent a whopping INR 6.8 crore to bag his services and understandably so, given the lack of explosive ability at the top. Travis Head and potentially Abhishek Sharma could be a destructive opening combination that could lay the platform for the likes of Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen to follow.
#2 Aiden Markram
Aiden Markram has already delivered silverware to the SunRisers franchise by winning both editions of the SA20 league with the SunRisers Eastern Cape. However, he wasn't able to replicate the same success in IPL as SRH finished 10th.
While Markram is no longer the captain of SRH, by no means is he not an important player for their chances. A quality batter in the middle order and a handy off-spinner, Markram's returns could be massive for Pat Cummins and his men.
#1 Heinrich Klaasen
One wouldn't be wrong to consider Heinrich Klaasen as the best T20 batter in the world at the moment, given how ridiculously good his ball-striking has been of late. The strike rate that Klaasen has been maintaining coupled with the consistency has just made him a game-changer in the shortest format.
In just 12 matches in IPL 2023, Klaasen scored a staggering 448 runs at a mind-blowing strike rate of 177.08 with a hundred and a couple of half-centuries. SRH would have to bat him higher up the order and if they can nal his entry point, Klaasen could single-handedly win them several games.
