IPL 2019: Top XI for Sunrisers Hyderabad

IPL 2019 is less than a month away. Most of the teams would be planning their moves and strategies already. And this time the teams will have to be very clever in their tactics as they will be juggling between the elections and the upcoming World Cup 2019.

All the team managements might have already framed a rough probable team that would take the field in their respective opening matches. On that note, here is a look at the best XI for the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

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Top Order

Sunrisers have been having a close to formidable side in the last few seasons of the IPL. This year too, the orange army will take the field as a very confident side. Last year, without Warner, SRH played the final. And this year, Sunrisers will be without Shikhar Dhawan who has been bought by the Delhi Capitals.

So, this year, with the return of Warner, he will open the innings for the team in orange. The player alongside Warner here will be Wriddhiman Saha, who opened for the team last year as well. While Warner is a world class player at the top of the order, Saha will be looking to prove his worth as an opener.

One down into the batting line-up will bring last year's skipper, Kane Williamson onto the field. Williamson had an absolute gem of a season last year, winning the Orange Cap with 735 runs at an amazing average of over 52. He is a definite certainty in the playing XI for the orange army.

In at No.4 will be Manish Pandey, who was bought by the Sunrisers last year, and he clearly failed to impress, with just 284 runs in 15 innings. He will have his task cut out to get back into that groove and earn his place in the Indian side as well.

Middle Order

The middle order starts with Yusuf Pathan at No. 5. At 36, he is still one of the destructive batters in T20 cricket. On his day, he will not return to the pavilion before winning the match for you. He is a very intelligent cricketer and knows when to explode.

Next in line will be Deepak Hooda, who had a bad season of IPL last year, and he too will be looking for redemption. If Hooda comes good this season, it will strengthen the middle order of the SRH team.

At No. 7, SRH have a choice of playing either Shakib Al Hasan or Mohammed Nabi. Both are spin bowling all-rounders. Both are known names, and both have enough International experience to boast of.

With this, the top 7 of SRH has 7 good batsmen, with a keeper included in them. Also, 6-8 overs can be bowled out by these top 7.

Bowling Attack

This is potentially the best bowling attack of any team in the IPL

The bowling attack is what Sunrisers love the most. They believe that bowlers win you matches, and hence they look to build a team around their bowlers. At No. 8 is their trump card, Rashid Khan, who has been performing exceptionally well across formats for Afghanistan and across seasons for SRH now.

Following him will be the Indian pacer, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has been another asset for the Hyderabad team. He has been performing well for the Sunrisers over the years.

Following Kumar will be Shahbaz Nadeem. He is a seasoned player now, and his leg-spin has spun a web around many quality batsmen from around the world. He will be waiting to make an impact from a team that boasts of potentially the best bowling attack.

The last slot will go to Siddarth Kaul. He was the head of the pace attack last year, when Bhuvi was nursing an injury. He has been rewarded for his efforts with a call-up for the Indian team. He will be the second pacer, and will strengthen the already strong bowling line-up.

There are some other noteworthy names as well, who aren't mentioned in the squad above. Vijay Shankar could replace Deepak Hooda in this squad, if Hooda fails to impress. There are also chances of Shankar getting an opportunity above Hooda. Other names that might get a nod are Martin Guptill, Jonny Bairstow and Khaleel Ahmed. All three have international experience, and that might tempt the Sunrisers team management towards giving them a game or two.

Two more names that have made a mark in the IPL are Sandeep Sharma and Basil Thampi. Though both these players will find it tough to make it to the XI, there are chances that Hyderabad might experiment with them.

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