What’s the story?
Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody is confident spirits ahead of IPL 2017 as he admitted that there "are no injury scares” ahead of the tenth edition of the tournament in which they will be hoping to defend their crown. Another good news for the fans is that fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman will join the SRH squad after the T20I series against Sri Lanka.
Speaking about the squad’s fitness ahead of IPL 2017, Moody said: “Touch wood, there are no injury scares for us and we feel confident with the depth of our bench strength too. There are no genuine concerns right now. It is important to have the right kind of team environment where everyone is involved and enjoys the sessions. Create a positive environment to let the players dish out natural game,”
Extra Cover: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) IPL 2017 jersey unveiled
In case you didn’t know…
After beating Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final, Sunrisers Hyderabad clinched IPL 2016 under the leadership of Australian opener David Warner. After an astute auction in which they made some great additions to an already settled squad, they will be looking to make it back-to-back titles.
The Details
With largely the same side that won the tournament a year ago, Tom Moody’s side certainly go into the tournament as one of the favorites. But Moody was keen to add that there is no extra pressure on them as the defending champions and they are looking to replicate the form they showed in last year's edition.
The one major concern for SRH in 2016 was the lack of a world-class spinner and they certainly made sure of correcting that flaw as they signed not one but three quality spinners in Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Pravin Tambe, with the Afghan duo more than capable of chipping with the bat as well.
Moody added that the pair added variety to the squad and termed Rashid as a “very good spinning all-rounder option for us in the middle-overs”.
Extra Cover: IPL 2017: Sunrisers Hyderabad all-time XI
What’s next?
The defending champions begin the defense of their IPL crown against Royal Challengers Bangalore, in what will be a repeat of last year’s IPL final on April 5.
Author’s Take
With a settled squad that has no injury concerns, SRH are undoubtedly one of the main contenders for the tenth edition of the IPL. Both Moody and the fans will be hoping that the injuries stay and their key performers, including captain David Warner, get back into form and have a memorable tournament.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
