IPL 2020: Sunrisers Hyderabad strongest possible XI

The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League is all set to take place in 2020 and the IPL Auction 2020 happened yesterday in Kolkata. Sunrisers Hyderabad used their funds wisely as they did not spend too much on a particular player. They grabbed some Indian domestic stars who could prove to be worthy bids if used properly. Indian U-19 skipper Priyam Garg and Virat Singh were the two biggest Indian signings of Hyderabad. Besides, the franchise even got Mitchell Marsh and Fabian Allen in the overseas section.

The Hyderabad-based franchise would not make much alterations to their playing XI as the team had a good bunch of players in 2019. Their 4 overseas players might remain the same as they had an outstanding season last year.

Sunrisers Hyderabad Full Squad: Kane Williamson, David Warner, Manish Pandey, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Billy Stanlake, T Natarajan, Abhishek Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mitchell Marsh, Fabian Allen, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Sanjay Yadav, Jonny Bairstow, Wriddhiman Saha, Shreevats Goswami, Bavanaka Sandeep.

This article features the strongest possible line-up of Sunrisers Hyderabad for Indian Premier League 2020 which is as follows.

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Openers | David Warner and Jonny Bairstow (wk)

David Warner and Jonny Bairstow are a potent combo

David Warner and English wicket-keeper batsman Jonny Bairstow stole the show with their exploits for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2019. They formed an incredible opening partnership which helped them qualify for the playoffs.

Warner smashed 692 runs in IPL 2019 in just 12 matches at an average of 69.20. His batting strike-rate of 143.86 was also appreciable as it helped in setting the perfect platform for the other batsmen. Jonny Bairstow mauled the bowlers by smashing 445 runs in 10 matches with his highest score being 114 runs. The side will look to continuing with them as the opening pair in the year 2020 as they look for a repeat performance.

Middle-order | Kane Williamson (c), Manish Pandey, Priyam Garg

Kane Williamson will lead the Orange Army in IPL 2020

Kane Williamson’s captaincy skills have proven to be beneficial for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the previous two IPL tourneys. Apart from his captaincy skills, his skills with the bat will also come into the picture as he would bat at number 3 in the line-up. In IPL 2019, Williamson played 9 matches, aggregating just 156 runs with his top score of the season being 70 runs.

Manish Pandey has been in the best form of his life in recent times. The star player had a great season of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the year 2019 as he led the Karnataka side to the title. His individual batting stats also wowed the fans as he aggregated 314 runs in just 9 matches at a magnificent average of 78.50 and a strike-rate of 164.39. Apart from that, he also had a great IPL season last year with 344 runs in 12 matches.

Indian U-19 captain, Priyam Garg earned his first IPL contract in the 2020 Auction. He will look to make the most out of the opportunity received and since Sunrisers Hyderabad need an Indian batsman in the middle-order, the youngster may feature in their match squad right from match number 1.

All-rounders | Vijay Shankar and Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan can fire in both the departments.

Rashid Khan has evolved as a player over the last few years as the Afghan has fired in both the departments. Apart from his usual mystery spin bowling, his hard-hitting batting skills surprised a few fans in IPL 2019. His spot in the playing XI can never be taken away as he can turn the game at any moment.

He grabbed 17 wickets last season at a very economical rate of 6.28. His best figures were 3/21 which showcases his exceptional talent. His batting skills were also noticeable as he played a few cameos for them while coming to bat lower down the order.

Vijay Shankar will be the second all-rounder in the Sunrisers Hyderabad playing XI for IPL 2020. He performed better with the bat in IPL 2019 as he smashed 244 runs from 15 matches. However, he grabbed 1 wicket after bowling 48 balls in the entire season. Even though he had an average show, the side did not release him this year. This indicates that he would remain an integral part of the line-up.

Bowlers | Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma and Shahbaz Nadeem

SRH has one of the most reliable bowling line-ups

Sunrisers Hyderabad had a fiery bowling line-up in IPL 2019 with their fast bowlers leading the side from the front. The team would look to continue with them in the year 2020 as well; as they have got the perfect composition of pace and skill. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed and Sandeep Sharma will be the first-choice seam bowlers with Siddharth Kaul being the back-up.

Khaleel Ahmed emerged as the top bowler from the SRH squad in IPL 2019 with 19 wickets in just 9 matches. He conceded 287 runs in the previous season at an economy of 8.23. Bhuvneshwar Kumar supported him by bagging 13 wickets from 15 matches.

Sandeep Sharma also played a major role in the bowling line-up as he played 11 matches in the season and grabbed 12 wickets. Shahbaz Nadeem is the only Indian spin bowler present in their squad. He featured in only 3 matches of IPL 2019. In those 3 matches, he ended up getting 2 wickets. Since all these bowlers are experienced and highly skilled, the side would not prefer to make any modifications to their bowling attack.