Transfers made – 0; Transfers remaining – 12
(Uncapped) Basil Thampi out –Mohammed Siraj in
Uncapped preference order: 1. Rahul Tripathi 2. Mohammed Siraj 3. Bipul Sharma 4. Shardul Thakur
Captain – David Warner
With David Warner, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ben Stokes already in, Kane Williamson and Steve Smith are the only other capped players from this fixture who could add value to my team. Both of them, however, haven’t been as consistent as you would like, to be banked on at this stage of the tournament.
Since his season debut against Delhi Daredevils, one in which he scored 89, Williamson has scores of 21, 54*, 40 and 24 – which is not good enough to lock an overseas spot in your fantasy team. The lack of big scores has a lot to do with his batting position, something that I have been saying all along. To get the best out of the 26-year-old in a T20 match, you will have to make him open the innings.
Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner starting to bat a lot better than they did in the first half of the season only further affects the chances of Williamson coming good. So, unless the Sunrisers fit into Schedule Mantra, it is really difficult to get value from the Kiwi.
Smith, on the other hand, has crossed the 50-run mark only twice in 10 matches this season, which is very poor for a batsman of his calibre. This is one of the reasons why I took him out of my team ahead of the RCB-KXIP match. Even if he converts one today, the damage could be limited, with the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan in the opposition line-up.
Also, Sunrisers should be looking at strengthening their bowling unit after the forgettable performance against Daredevils, which should make it even more difficult for the RPSG batsmen. Reports suggest that Ashish Nehra is fit to take his place back in the side, possibly at the cost of Mohammed Siraj. Bipul Sharma could return to the team, too, after the way he bowled against Ajinkya Rahane and Rahul Tripathi at Pune.
This is an ideal bowling attack for Yuvraj Singh to build on his knock against Daredevils in the last match, but with Warner and Williamson batting above him, there are very good chances of the southpaw not getting enough deliveries to cause any considerable damage. I expect Imran Tahir to be seen off, too.
Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians
Transfers made – 1; Transfers remaining – 11
Ben Stokes out – Rohit Sharma in
(uncapped) Manan Vohra out – Krunal Pandya in
Uncapped preference order: 1. Krunal Pandya 2. Shahbaz Nadeem 3. Shreyas Iyer 4. Nitish Rana
Captain – Chris Morris/ Rohit Sharma
With Mumbai Indians playing Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad in their next two fixtures, a couple of early wickets is a realistic expectation in each of them; and as a result, Rohit Sharma will be forced to come in early into the game. The 30-year-old can also be carried to Mumbai’s next couple of matches depending on how things turn out in the first two, which makes him my first pick.
Jos Buttler was at his best against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last match, but again found a way to get himself dismissed to a ball that didn't deserve a wicket, and against a bowling line-up that has Kagiso Rabada and Pat Cummins, I don't want to be going in hoping for something that has never happened in the two seasons so far.
As far as Mumbai’s bowlers are concerned, wickets continue to get split between Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell McClenaghan, so I have decided to stick to my early season call of keeping all of them out. Also with Krunal Pandya getting in as many wickets as these pacers, you aren’t missing out on a bowling option from the side.
Moving on to Delhi Daredevils, it is not yet clear whether Chris Morris was dropped against Gujarat Lions or rested to recover from any minor injury issues. If he misses out again today, it would confirm what DD’s intentions were. The South African pace bowling all-rounder is the best captaincy option for this fixture, and it is exactly for this reason that I haven't yet dropped him.
Cummins and Rabada are better picks than any of the Delhi batting options, which includes Rishabh Pant. The 19-year-old will be facing a bowling attack of a completely different class, and so I don't expect him to make the same impact this time around. It holds true for Sanju Samson as well.
Among the uncapped picks, Krunal Pandya appeals more for this fixture than Nitish Rana, as the latter will be up against a bowling attack that is too good for him. There has, however, been no update yet on the fitness of Krunal that forced him to leave the field midway during the last match.
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