Sunrisers Hyderabad entered the 10th season of the Indian Premier League as defending champions and started with aplomb by crushing the finalists of 2016, Royal Challengers Bangalore, by 35 runs. Their 2017 season, however, hasn’t been as spectacular as the previous one.
Except for David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan and occasionally the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Kane Williamson, the batting was largely untested and when exposed, has failed to deliver. The bowling, however, is razor sharp with Bhuvneshwar Kumar once again leading a disciplined unit.
Rashid Khan, that young leggie from Afghanistan, and Mohammad Nabi have stamped their names into the eleven with brilliant performances. Siddharth Kaul has stepped up every time Bhuvneshwar Kumar faltered at the death while the likes of Mohammad Siraj and Moises Henriques have also bowled well.
Also read: Who will win the eliminator between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders?
But the 2018 season is said to involve a wholesale re-auction which means every team might have a totally different composition. While it is hugely unfair to teams like Sunrisers that have built a stable side over the years, as things stand, all players will be back in the auction pool. However, what if there was an option to retain players? Which players would Sunrisers have retained in their squad?
#5 Siddharth Kaul
Having sat out the initial few games, Siddharth Kaul came into reckoning with Ashish Nehra frequently injured. Kaul stood out with his accurate line and length and tight death bowling. Bhuvneshwar Kumar could not quite replicate his death over skills like last season but Kaul put his hands up and revelled in the role.
In 9 games this season, Kaul has 16 wickets which is his best return in a season. In the remaining 11 games he had played previously, Kaul had just 6 wickets which shows the kind of improvement curve he has undergone this season.
With his skills revamped, Kaul could be one of the players Sunrisers would have liked to retain.
#4 Rashid Khan
The Afghanistan leggie was making big waves in the International arena when the IPL auctions took place. Sunrisers wasted no time to bag his services for a whopping Rs 4 crore and unleashed him straight away in the tournament.
Rashid delivered from the word go, picking up 17 wickets in 13 games at an average of 20.41 and an economy of 6.67. He has been smart with his googlies and used his variations cleverly to emerge as one of the best spinners of the season.
He would undoubtedly be on the list of players Sunrisers would want to retain.
#3 Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The Indian seamer is one of the best T20 death bowlers going around in World Cricket and proved as much with his near perfect yorkers and smart slow balls towards the end. Bhuvi has been the most consistent of the Hyderabad bowlers and Warner's go-to man.
In 13 games, Bhuvneshwar has mustered 25 wickets and is the purple cap holder this season. He is ahead of the second placed, Jaydev Unadkat by 4 wickets and if the Sunrisers go on to play in the final, he could very well retain his purple cap. Bhuvi would be a certainty in Sunrisers' wish list of players to retain for 2018.
#2 Shikhar Dhawan
The usually inconsistent Shikhar Dhawan found his groove with the bat this season and has excelled after a good domestic season. The opening batsman has found the favour with the Indian selectors yet again after a productive IPL and domestic season.
Dhawan has racked up 468 runs in 13 matches at an average of 39.00 and strike rate of 128.92. The southpaw has cracked three half-centuries and looked good for more right through the season.
He is also second in the list of most run-scorers this season behind teammate, David Warner. His excellent form would mean that Sunrisers will want to retain him for the next season.
#1 David Warner
The Australian Test vice-captain and Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper, David Warner is the franchise's highest run-getter of all-time as well as this season. His marauding form with the bat has meant that a rather weak middle-order is shielded most of the time.
Warner has been in outrageous form and would undoubtedly be the first name in the list of players Sunrisers would want to retain for next season.
With 604 runs in 13 matches, the proud orange cap holder has close to 150 runs more than the next highest scorer. His captaincy has also earned appreciation over the past two seasons.
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