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Sunrisers Hyderabad have been a mighty team in recent times. The quality of their players - both overseas and local - have helped the team stay among the top three teams in the last 3 seasons.
Overseas players have always played a pivotal role for SRH. Kumar Sangakkara, who captained the Orange Army for nine matches, followed by Cameron White for the remaining seven matches in their inaugural season (2013), lead the side to their maiden playoffs. These two players also won numerous matches for the franchise.
Overseas players have also played huge roles in final matches, such as Ben Cutting, who spoiled RCB's dreams of winning an IPL trophy and was declared the Man of the Match in the 2016 final.
On that note, here is a look at the four overseas players who are likely to play for the Orange Army in their opening match of IPL 2019.
#4 Shakib Al Hasan
The Bangladesh captain and one of the world's best all-rounders was retained by Sunrisers for a price of ₹1 crore in the IPL auction 2019.
Shakib Al Hasan is widely acclaimed for his left-handed aggressive batting style in the middle order and his controlled slow left-arm orthodox bowling. He did adequate justice to his role in the last season for the Orange Army.
Shakib was a regular in the playing XI in the last season, playing all the 17 matches. He scored 239 runs with an average of 21.72. With the ball, he scalped 14 wickets.
The stats clearly show he is a dependable all-rounder for the team in Indian conditions.
The Bangladesh captain can provide the much-needed balance for SRH in the opening game. He can used be as a floater and can bat in any position. Also, he is one of the best left-arm spinners in the IPL.
#3 Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2017 IPL at a whopping price of ₹4 crore. He finished the tournament as the sixth highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets from 14 matches.
In IPl 2018, the leg spinner shone even brighter with the ball. He had a wonderful season, playing all the 17 games, including the finals against CSK. He ended up taking taking 21 wickets over the course of the season, at a very miserly economy rate.
Rashid is also the leading bowler in the ICC T20 rankings.
The 20-year-old has taken 38 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 6.69 in IPL. He memorably played an instrumental role for SRH in 2018's second qualifier against KKR.
Rashid would love to continue in the same vein this season, carrying on from where he left off in 2018. The Afghanistan spinner has been in great form recently too, having picked four wickets in four balls against Ireland in a recent T20I series.
#2 Kane Williamson (or Jonny Bairstow if Williamson is not fit)
The Orange Army suffered a huge blow last year as their aggressive captain David Warner got caught in the ball tampering issue which became a huge controversy in the cricketing world, leading to his suspension.
All eyes were on Kane Williamson, as he was the second-most senior player after Warner. Williamson was appointed as the commander of the Orange Army, and he proved himself to be perfect for the role. As captain, he guided the team to the IPL finals in 2018.
During the 2018 season, Williamson proved wrong all the doubters who thought he might not be good in the shorter version. The 28-year-old can contribute to the team with the bat, and can be a deputy to Warner.
Williamson would bring all of his international captaincy experience to the SRH dug out. That could be fruitful in a such a high-stakes, high-tension tournament.
That said, Williamson picked up an injury in the series against Bangladesh, and is now in a race against time to be fit for the match against KKR. If he can't get back to match fitness by the morning of the match, SRH will likely play Jonny Bairstow instead of him.
#1 David Warner
David Warner has been one of the most successful batsmen in the IPL. Representing SRH since 2014, he has played a major role for them in the top order.
Warner holds the record for the most runs by an overseas batsman (4014), most half-centuries (36), and the highest individual score by a captain (126).
His aggressive batting and captaincy led SRH to their maiden IPL trophy in 2016. In 2017, Warner played 14 games and scored 641 runs at an average of 58.27, including a brilliant knock of 126, the highest by a captain in the IPL. He was also the Orange Cap for the season.
The return of the Australian opener would be a huge morale boost for the Sunrisers camp. He had won the IPL almost single-handedly for them in 2016, and the SRH fans would expect more of the same from their captain this year.
The left-hander would be hungry to score after missing cricket for one full year.
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