How Sunrisers Hyderabad could possibly lineup for IPL 2018

Sunrisers Hyderabad have always been credited of having the best auction strategy and buys in the past few IPL player auctions and the performances of Mustafizur Rahman and Rashid Khan have only strengthened that point.

They went into the 2018 IPL auction with a clear plan to weed out the weaknesses from their past campaigns, which meant renovating their middle order batting and finding a finisher.

They were able to accomplish both of these targets with a mixture of pricey and bargain buys. Since the conclusion of the auction, Cricketing pundits have backed the Sunrisers Hyderabad to have a successful 2018 IPL campaign.

So, lets have a look at the much talked about Sunrisers Hyderabad starting eleven for the 2018 IPL season:

OPENERS- David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan:

By using the RTM card for Shikhar Dhawan at Rs 5.2 crore, SRH made sure that the recipe for their continued success over the past few seasons stayed intact.

With over 2000 runs in the past 4 seasons together, David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan have formed one of the most formidable opening pairs in the IPL. They rank in the top 5 for the best opening pairs in the history of the IPL.

David Warner is one of the most explosive opening batsman in world cricket and with over 2500 runs at an average 50.52 alongside a century and 26 fifties, he is Sunrisers leading run scorer in the IPL.

Shikhar Dhawan has made a name for himself through the IPL with some gusty performances for SRH, he is second on the list of leading run scorers for the Sunrisers with 2271 runs at an average of 34 alongside 15 half-centuries.

MIDDLE ORDER- Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan:

SRH have invested heavily in Manish Pandey and will be hoping he comes good in the middle-order.

Middle order has always been Sunrisers Achilles heel in the IPL. So the think tank of SRH made sure that they upgraded their batting arsenal in the auction. They went all out for IPL veteran Manish Pandey, roping him in at a whopping price of Rs 11 crore. At the same time, a member of the modern generation's 'Fab 4' in Kane Williamson as well as one of the best all-rounders in the world in Shakib Al-Hasan at bargain prices of Rs 3 crore and Rs 2 crore respectively.

Kane Williamson has not padded up as consistently as he would have liked in the IPL but that might all change this year. Williamson had a quiet but successful 2017 IPL, where he scored 256 runs in 7 matches at an average of 42.66 and a strike rate of 151.47. He is expected to slot in at number 3.

Last year Manish Pandey completed a decade in the IPL, becoming a veteran of sorts in the tournament. He was a vital member in the KKR squad for the past few seasons and is coming off a very strong IPL 2017 where he scored 396 runs at an average of 49.5 and a strike rate of 128.57. Pandey is going to be SRH's mainstay at the number 4 position.

Shakib Al Hasan is one of the best all-rounders going around in the game of Cricket today. As a bowler, he is accurate and canny while as a batsman, he is aggressive with a wide range of shots in his arsenal.

LOWER ORDER- Wriddhiman Saha and Deepak Hooda:

The onus will be on Wriddhiman Saha to hold the lower order

This is perhaps the weakest link in this Sunrisers side. With no disrespect to Wriddhiman Saha and Deepak Hooda, both of whom are extremely talented players but lack the ability to use the long handle during death overs.

Saha is one of the safest hands behind the stumps and is a reliable batsman. He had a stellar 2017 IPL season where he scored 234 runs in 12 matches at an average of 23.4 and a strike rate of 125.13. As a keeper, Saha took 10 catches and affected 2 stumpings. Saha is an upgrade over Naman Ojha.

Deepak Hooda will be expected to play the role of a finisher, he did have a mediocre IPL 2017 campaign where he scored 78 runs at an average 26 and a strike rate of 150. He will be looking to impress when he pads up in IPL 2018.

BOWLERS- Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Basil Thampi, Sandeep Sharma:

Bhuvneshwar Kumar will lead SRH's bowling unit in IPL 11

Sunrisers Hyderabad usually boast one of the most formidable bowling units in the IPL and this season won't be any different. With the retention of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the use of RTM for spinning sensation Rashid Khan, the Hyderbad outfit made sure the nucleus of their bowling attack remained intact while the purchases of the impressive Basil Thampi and Sandeep Sharma further bolstered their attack even more.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is one of the leading pacers in the IPL and a two-time purple cap winner. He had an impressive 2017 IPL campaign where he snapped up 26 wickets at an economy rate of 7.05, managing all of this while bowling two overs each in the powerplay and at the death.

Rashid Khan is one of the hottest properties in cricket right now and his price tag of 9 crores more than justifies this claim. Like Bhuvi, he too had had an impressive IPL 2017 where he bagged 17 wickets at a miserly economy rate of 6.62. Rashid will be expected to lead the bowling attack alongside Bhuvneshwar.

Basil Thampi made his debut with the Gujrat Lions last season, his performance of 11 wickets in 12 matches earned him the Emerging Player of The Year award. Thampi's ability to bowl yorkers at will, is surely a bonus for the Sunrisers.

Sandeep Sharma is one of the players who have made it to the Indian team via the IPL, a bowler with the ability to swing the ball both ways and will be lookking to form a potent new ball pair with Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The former had a solid 2017 IPL season where he collected 17 wickets at an economy rate of 8.29.