IPL 2019: Key Players for Sunrisers Hyderabad this Season  

Since the inaugural edition in 2008, Deccan Chargers was one of the 8 franchises contesting for the IPL. DC was terminated in 2012 and Sunrisers Hyderabad had replaced them. Sunrisers Hyderabad made their first IPL appearance in 2013, and reached the playoffs stage, eventually finishing in fourth place. They won their maiden IPL title in 2016, beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by just 8 runs in the finals.

Sunrisers Hyderabad won 10 and lost 7 matches in last year's edition. They finished runners- up in the 2018 season losing to Chennai Super Kings in the finals.

Going into the 2019 IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad appear to be one of the most balanced sides. They have the best bowling attack and with the return of David Warner, their batting is bolstered.

Ahead of the 2019 auction, SRH retained 17 players and had released 9. They traded Shikhar Dhawan to Delhi Capitals in favour of Shahbaz Nadeem, Vijay Shankar, and Abhishek Sharma. They added two new players, in Jonny Bairstow and Martin Guptill that strengthens their batting immensely. Wriddhiman Saha was bought back after being released.

In the 2019 auction, the SRH franchise released Sachin Baby, Tanmay Agarwal, Wriddhiman Saha, Chris Jordan, Carlos Braithwaite, Alex Hales, Bipul Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Mehedi Hasan

Sunrisers Hyderabad will begin their IPL campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders on the 24th of March at the iconic Eden Garden's Stadium in Kolkata.

SRH will be giving it their all to lift their 2nd IPL title.

Here we look at the 5 key players for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2019

# 1. Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan: 21 wickets in 17 matches in IPL 2018.

In February 2017, Rashid Khan was bought by SRH for 4 Crore. He was among the first 2 players from Afghanistan to be selected in the IPL. He became the first Afghanistan player to take a 5 wicket haul in Test cricket on 16th March 2019.

The young teen sensation from Afghanistan, Rashid Khan was bought again by SRH for 9 Crore in the 2018 auction. He had taken 21 wickets from 17 matches (17 innings) with an economy of 6.73 runs per over and the best figures of 3/19, and this justified his cost.

Rashid Khan was the 2nd leading wicket-taker in the tournament although he did not have a 4 or 5 wicket haul in any match. On 5th May 2018, Rashid Khan played his 100th T20 match.

His stature as a bowler has exceptionally grown in the limited overs format. He has played for different franchises around the world. He is a prominent member of leagues ranging from BBL, CPL, APL, to the Natwest T20 Blast.

He is currently the number 1 ranked bowler in T20I format. Rashid Khan has taken 96 wickets from 61 matches across T20 domestic leagues last year and hopes to achieve the century mark this year.

Overall he has taken 38 IPL wickets from 31 matches so far, at an average of 21.47 and a brilliant economy of 6.68 runs per over. His ability to surprise the batsmen with his variations makes him a tough bowler to face in the T20 format.

Rashid Khan is expected to turn the fortune for his franchise with his wrist spin bowling in this edition of the IPL.

# 2. David Warner

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David Warner played a key role for SRH in 2016 and 2017.

David Warner has been welcomed with both arms into the Sunrisers Hyderabad camp in this year's IPL as he missed IPL 2018 due to the 12-month ban imposed on him due to the ball tampering allegation.

Warner has the record of most runs by an overseas player with 4014 runs, most half centuries(36) and the highest individual score of 126 by a captain in IPL.

The explosive left-handed batsman from Australia is currently the 8th leading run-getter in IPL with 4014 runs from 114 matches at an average of 40.54 and at a strike rate of 142.13.

Warner made his IPL debut for Delhi Daredevils in 2009 and played till 2013. He scored 1435 runs in 55 matches with a best score of 109*.

From 2014 onwards, he has been playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad. In 2015, he was appointed as the captain of the franchise. Warner ended as the leading runs scorer in the tournament and in the process won the Orange Cap.

He continued as the captain of SRH in 2016 and led the franchise to their first title. He finished the season with 848 runs, the second highest of the tournament behind Virat Kohli.

In 2017, Warner scored 126 against Kolkata Knight Riders which also marked his 3rd century in IPL. He finished as the leading runs scorer and was awarded the Orange Cap for the 2nd time. The explosive left-handed batsman from Australia finished with 641 runs from 17 matches at an average of 58.27.

In 2018 edition, Warner was retained and appointed as the captain by Sunrisers Hyderabad but he had to step down from the captaincy post and as a player for the franchise following the events of the ball tampering allegation.

He is expected to open the batting for SRH and provide flying starts to the team in this year's edition.

# 3. Kane Williamson

Kane Williamson won the Orange Cap with 735 runs in 17 matches in IPL 2018

Kane Williamson is a 28-year old right-handed batsman from New Zealand and is widely considered one of the best batsmen in the world across all formats.

Williamson is a consistent performer for New Zealand with 5554 runs from 139 ODI's and 1505 T20I runs from 57 matches.

In 2015, Kane Williamson was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad and had scored just 31 runs from the 2 matches he played for them. Williamson played only 6 matches and made just 124 runs for SRH in 2016. In 2017, the franchise retained him and he had scored 256 runs from 7 matches.

In 2018, SRH retained Kane and he was appointed as the captain replacing David Warner. Williamson had a great season as a captain leading Sunrisers Hyderabad to the finals. Known to be a test specialist, he proved cricket pundits wrong by winning the Orange Cap in IPL 2018 scoring the most runs with 735 runs in 17 matches(17 innings).

Kane Williamson has been retained by SRH in this year's edition and the fans would be hoping for a repeat performance.

#4. Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey best score of 62* in IPL 2018

Manish Pandey, a talented right-handed batsman from Karnataka, made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians in 2008. He became the first Indian to score a century in IPL during the 2009 edition.

From 2011 to 2013, he had a disappointing stint for Pune Warriors India with 528 runs from 27 matches.

In 2014, Manish Pandey was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders and had a successful season with them, scoring 401 runs from 16 matches and the best score of 94. 2 years later, Manish Pandey had another successful season for Kolkata Knight Riders with 396 runs from 14 matches and with a best score of 81*.

He was purchased by Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping 11 Crore in 2018. His performance was a disappointment in that season as he scored 284 runs from 15 innings with a best score of 62*.

Manish Pandey has been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit. He was a part of the winning team which won the Under 19 World Cup in 2008 held in Malaysia.

He has scored 440 runs from 23 ODI's at an average of 36.66 and scored 538 runs in 28 T20Is at an average of 41.38. Because of his inconsistent performances, he has been in and out of the Indian national squad.

The right-handed batsman would be looking to prove his worth with the bat and is expected to play a key role for SRH in this year's edition.

#5. Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar 26 wickets in IPL 2017

With a successful 2008/09 Ranji Trophy season, Bhuvneshwar Kumar made his IPL debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

During 2011-2013, Bhuvneshwar Kumar had a disappointing stint for Pune Warriors India with only 24 wickets from 31 matches. After departing the Pune Warriors India, he was picked by SRH in 2014.

In 2016, Kumar had an impressive season to help SRH win the title. He had won the Purple Cap, picking up 23 wickets from 17 matches (17 innings) with an economy of 7.42 runs per over. In IPL 2017, Bhuvneshwar Kumar had won the Purple Cap for the 2nd time in a row for taking 26 wickets from 14 matches(14 innings) with an economy of 7.05 runs per over.

He is currently the 6th leading wicket-taker in IPL with 120 wickets from 102 matches(102 innings) with an economy of 7.15 runs per over and the best figures of 5/19.

In 2018, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was retained by SRH and featured only in 9 matches with 12 wickets to his name. The franchise retained him again in this year's edition and he is expected to share the bowling burden with Rashid Khan and Siddarth Kaul to help the franchise win their 2nd title.

He became the first Indian bowler to pick up a 5 wicket haul in international cricket in all formats. He also needs to be careful to avoid injuries as he is a key member of the 2019 Indian World Cup squad.