IPL 2019: Ideal playing XI for SRH after the departure of Warner and Bairstow

IPL 12 is slowly reaching the closing stages as the battle for the playoff spots is intensifying with every match. CSK and DC recently became the first teams to secure their spots in the playoffs this season. The other two playoff spots are still vacant and up for grabs.

Almost all teams are still in contention for those spots. Teams like RR and KKR have to win every match remaining to qualify. MI, SRH, and KXIP on the other hand, are in a better position than others to qualify for the next stage.

All the teams are going to be affected by the departure of star international players. International players from England, South Africa, and Australia are set to return to their respective countries in order to participate in the World Cup preparatory camps.

SRH is going to be the most affected team as they will have to play their final leg of league matches without their star openers - David Warner and Jonny Bairstow. SRH currently occupies 4th position in the points table with 3 matches left to be played.

SRH is going to play some crucial game in the near future. The results of these matches will have a drastic effect on their chances of advancing to the next stage of the league. Thus far SRH's batting department has been heavily dependent on their explosive opening pair Bairstow-Warner. The middle and lower order have been in poor form since the start of the season.

The middle order batsmen need to rediscover their form and step up in the absence of international stalwarts. Manish Pandey has shown signs of returning to form by scoring consecutive fifties which is a welcome sign for SRH's middle order woes. Skipper Kane Williamson, Vijay Shankar, and Deepak Hooda should also perform up to their caliber to keep SRH in the hunt to win their second IPL title.

Here we take a look at a balanced team composition for SRH team after the departure of their star openers.

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Batting:

Manish Pandey needs to continue his good form (Picture courtesy: iplt20.com)

SRH will need a new opening partner for Williamson at the top. Players like Martin Guptill, Wriddhiman Saha, and Sreevats Goswami are frontrunners to take the spot. All the three have opened the innings earlier for SRH team.

But the management might go in with experienced Martin Guptill for the crucial upcoming matches. Also, Guptil and Williamson have been a highly successful opening pair for New Zealand in T20I. Given Guptill's big-hitting reputation he might be the ideal replacement for David Warner at least on paper.

Offbeat choices might be the left-handed attacking batsman, Abhishek Sharma, and big-hitting allrounder Deepak Hooda if the team management decides to go on an unconventional path.

Inform batsmen Pandey will walk in to bat at his preferred one down position. Allrounder Shankar will play at number 4 position. He started the season well with a few crucial cameos but could not sustain the same form in the later matches. SRH will be hoping that he would perform up to his capabilities in the remaining matches and provide much-needed solidity to their middle order.

Yusuf Pathan might be picked ahead of Hooda due to his vast experience and big hitting abilities. Saha will be the wicketkeeper of the side. Mohammad Nabi will occupy the number seven position in the line-up. Nabi has impressed in the few matches that he played so far but lost his position due to high competition for the 4 overseas player slots in the team.

Shakib Al Hasan has played ahead of Nabi in the last two games but could not make an impact in either department. So team management might go in with experienced Afghan allrounder in the upcoming matches.

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Bowling:

Rashid Khan (Picture courtesy: iplt20.com)

Rashid Khan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are automatic picks in the line-up given their reputation and talent. Khaleel Ahmed has bowled well ever since he made a comeback into the side after missing the first few matches. So he will be the new ball partner of Bhuvi.

Sandeep Sharma will be the third seamer. He has been in indifferent form throughout the season but his ability to swing the ball might give him a chance in the XI. Also the repeated failure of Kaul will work in favor of Sharma.

Billy Stanlake might also be a potential option as SRH has been struggling with their bowling combination in the last few matches.

Ideal XI - Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson (c), Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Yusuf Pathan, Mohammad Nabi, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma.