IPL 2018: 5 players Sunrisers Hyderabad could retain using RTM

The 2016 champions surprised us all when they decided to leave out Shikhar Dhawan from their list of retained players and keep hold of only two, their captain David Warner and strike bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Retaining two players allows them to use three RTM cards in the auction and with players such as Rashid Khan, Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh in the pool, the Hyderabad team will look to bring all their three cards into play.

We look at five players from the 2017 Hyderabad team who could be retained by using the RTM card.

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#1 Shikhar Dhawan

The swashbuckling opener has been in great form recently, scoring a massive 960 runs in 2017 with an average of 48 for India.

He has been a very important player for the Sunrisers the past few seasons, forming a great partnership with David Warner at the top. Giving quick starts to his team, he notched 479 runs at a strike rate of 127 in the 2017 IPL season. Retaining him will be a huge boost for the team and the fans.

#2 Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan had a stellar IPL 2017

The Afghanistani leg-spinner has bamboozled batsmen from all around the world ever since he burst onto the scene in the World T20 in 2016 where he was the second highest wicket-taker.

Having picked up 17 wickets in 14 matches at an economy rate of 6.62, he was an integral part of Hyderabad's bowling unit in IPL 2017. Rashid will no doubt be a candidate for the RTM card and the Sunrisers think-tank would definitely not want to let him go.

#3 Mustafizur Rahman

Mustafizur Rahman will be raring to go in IPL 2018

Nicknamed the 'Fizz', the Bangladeshi bowler was the go-to man for captain Warner for early wickets and he did not disappoint, picking up 17 wickets in 17 matches in the 2016 edition. An injury kept him out of the 2017 season, but he would be raring to have a go at the batsmen this year.

The Sunrisers will look to acquire his services and hope he forms a lethal fast bowling partnership with Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Bhuvneshwar's swing and Rahman's pace could turn out to be a title-winning combination for Hyderabad.

#4 Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh would walk into any team as an all-rounder.

Yuvraj became the most expensive player in the 2014 IPL auction when Royal Challengers Bangalore acquired his services for a whopping INR 14 Cr. He immediately broke his own record the very next season when Delhi Daredevils bought him for INR 16 Cr. He has not had a good couple of seasons for Sunrisers Hyderabad though.

He may not be the best in the business right now, but he certainly has the ability to turn a match on its head. When in his stride, there is no better batsman to watch than the elegant left-handed player. Throw in his skills with the ball, and Yuvraj cc

#5 Moises Henriques

Moises Henriques could be retained by SRH

Moises Henriques has been with Sunrisers Hyderabad since the 2014 season. He is only 31 runs away from the 1000 run mark in the IPL despite having featured in just 57 matches. He would definitely want to prove himself and make the all-rounder's position his own in this team.

The Australian, while quite handy with the bat, failed to deliver similar results with the ball in his IPL stints. The Sunrisers would love to retain him though and have him fill the ever-so-important all-rounder's position in their squad.