IPL 2018: 3 reasons why Alex Hales will not be an ideal replacement for David Warner

David Warner received a one-year ban from Cricket Australia for his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal that rocked the cricketing world. Warner has also been barred from playing in IPL 2018, and as a result, had to step down as captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad.

In the absence of the swashbuckling opener, SRH have drafted in Alex Hales, the right-handed hard-hitting batsman from England. The English opener has a stupendous record in T20 cricket, with a strike rate of 136.33, having also scored a century. He has proven to be an effective player for England in limited-overs cricket. However, he might not be Warner's ideal replacement when it comes to overall impact. Here are a few reasons to back that claim:

#1 Poor form

Hales has struggled with the bat of late

Hales is coming off a rough patch. He has not scored a century in limited-overs cricket since March 2017. His average in 2018 is 26.83 in ODIs and 18.25 in T20 internationals for England.

His form is also a cause for concern when he travels to the sub-continent as his strike rate dips from 143.54 (overall) to 129.55 (Asia). He is coming off a not-so-impressive run in the PSL, where he averaged 21.75 in 4 matches for Islamabad United.

With plenty of spin to contend with in the IPL, Hales might end up struggling.

#2 Lack of experience in Indian conditions

Alex Hales was a part of MI in 2015

Interestingly enough, in 2015, Alex Hales made his first foray into the IPL as a replacement for the injured Corey Anderson. He did not get to play a single game in 2015 and is yet to make his IPL debut.

In 2017, when England toured India, Hales failed in the first two ODIs and picked up a finger injury which forced him to miss the rest of the series. Overall, Hales has not had much game time in Indian conditions and this could prove a large hurdle to cross.

In the past, English batsmen have found it difficult to adjust to Indian conditions, especially the slow and sluggish tracks. Players like Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Jos Buttler and Jason Roy all flattered to deceive in the IPL. Hales, in all likelihood, faces an uphill task. As he loves the ball coming on to the bat, he will surely be greeted with some spin early on in the innings.

#3 Better options were available

Luke Ronchi has been in fine form

The Sunrisers had quite a lot of players to choose from for the opening slot after the news of Warner's ban broke. Luke Ronchi, Shaun Marsh, Lendl Simmons, Hashim Amla and Martin Guptill are some of the names that spring to mind.

Ronchi has done fairly well in the past few seasons of T20 cricket, strengthening his credential as a hard-hitting opener. He also recently guided Islamabad United to glory with an average of 43.50 and a whopping strike rate of 182 in the PSL. He also picked up a number of Man of the Match awards along the way. He would have been a perfect fit along with Shikhar Dhawan to open the innings for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Another player in the mix was Amla. Amla scored two centuries in the previous edition of the IPL for Kings XI Punjab and has the experience of playing in India in all forms of the game.

For Sunrisers Hyderabad, the loss of Warner has hit them hard. They have lost a quick scoring opener and an experienced captain. While they have found an able skipper in Kane Williamson, the dilemma now will be managing the overseas slots. It remains to be seen if Hales can edge out competition from the other overseas players and end up opening the innings with Shikhar Dhawan.