IPL 2019: Sunrisers Hyderabad probable playing XI vs RCB

The Sunrisers Hyderabad have been one of the most consistent teams in the Indian Premier League since their introduction to the league in 2013. In their six seasons as an IPL franchise, SRH has made it to the playoffs 4 out of 6 times, a success rate of 66.67%.

Their think tank has been the best when it comes to the auction table, their acquisitions over the past few auctions, be it Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, David Warner have all turned them into a team capable of competing for the title on a regular basis.

Last season their talismanic opener David Warner missed the season due to a ban imposed on him by the Australian Cricket Board. Critics and fans didn't give SRH much chance of making it to playoffs, and this is where the players stepped up, quashing all the doubts raised about them and led by the charismatic Kane Williamson qualified for the playoffs as table toppers before finishing as the runners-up for the tournament.

During the off-season, they saw the departure of one their best and longest-serving player, Shikhar Dhawan. It dealt a major blow seeing one of India's premier players leave the team but SRH has shown in the past how these things don't impact them much.

They started their campaign for the 2019 IPL season against 2-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens where they lost a closely fought match. They redeemed themselves in the next match by successfully chasing down 199 runs against the Rajasthan Royals, their highest successful chase in the IPL.

Here is a probable starting 11 for their next match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Openers:

David Warner and Johnny Bairstow

David Warner

The King of Hyderabad, David Warner is back after completing a one-year ban imposed on him by the Australian Cricket Board on counts of ball tampering. Warner is one of the most prolific run-getters in the IPL and has the most fifties in the IPL.

An aggressor by nature, Warner formed one of the most destructive opening pairs alongside fellow southpaw Shikhar Dhawan over the past few seasons. But now with Shikhar Dhawan traded to the Delhi Capitals, the onus now falls on Warner to provide good starts for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

His performance has been impeccable since his return to the IPL scoring 2 fifties in as many matches and has now claimed the Orange cap. Watching him play seems like he had never been away.

David Warner's partner in crime for the match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore will be hard-hitting Englishman, Johnny Bairstow, bought by SRH in the recently held 2019 IPL auction, this will be Bairstow's first season in the IPL.

He has been solid for SRH in the last 2 games scoring 30+ runs in each and was able to hold one end on his own even after Warner departed during their chase of 199 against Rajasthan Royals on Friday.

Top Order:

Kane Williamson & Vijay Shankar:

Vijay Shankar

When the news of David Warner's exclusion from the 2018 season of IPL was announced, critics made it pretty clear that SRH was going to have a tough time this season without their explosive opening batsman who led them to the title in 2016.

Enter Kane Williamson, a player whose approach to batting is the exact opposite of David Warner's. He prefers playing proper cricketing shots instead of going berserk during the powerplay overs.

He broke every prediction made about the bowling heavy SRH squad, leading them to the finals on his back scoring 735 runs in 17 matches at an average of 52.50 and winning the orange cap in the process.

Williamson has recovered from his shoulder injury and will slot into batting order at the first down position.

Part of the trade that sent Shikhar Dhawan to the Delhi Capitals, Vijay Shankar is a player who is underestimated even after he put up some amazing numbers over the past 2 IPL seasons. Vijay has had an average of 50+ over the last 2 IPL seasons.

Lacking a quality Indian all-rounder over the past few seasons, the acquisition of Vijay can bolster the squad on both sides of the ball. His experience with the Indian team will also come handy.

He has been everything the SRH think-tank hoped he would be for them this season, a quality Indian batting option who can hit big when called upon. Shankar has scored 30+ in both games and has a strike-rate of over 150+ in both of them.

Middle Order:

Manish Pandey & Yusuf Pathan:

Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey, one of the most expensive buys of the 2018 IPL auction, turned out to be a major dud for SRH. He could muster only 284 runs at an average of 25.81 and a strike rate of 115.44. Not the return you expect from your multi-million dollar recruit.

Manish is one of the most talented batsmen in the Indian domestic circuit and is coming off a wonderful Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy campaign where he led Karnataka to the trophy. He was 12th overall in the batting chart, with 331 runs at an average of 66.20 and a strike rate of 171.50. With the talent that he possesses, Manish Pandey is expected to make a comeback this season.

Yusuf Pathan provides the firepower at the backend of the batting order for SRH, though he did win some games on his own with some big-hitting, consistency has been an issue with him over the past few seasons. His performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy was also not very encouraging and his strike rate in the tournament was below 110, not something you want from a guy expected to finish games for your team.

Bowlers:

Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma & Shabaaz Nadeem:

Rashid Khan

Boasting one of the best bowling attacks in the IPL, SRH is one of the few teams whose bowling attack features players who have represented their national team consistently over the past few months.

Their ace bowler Rashid Khan is the no.1 T20I bowler according to ICC rankings and was phenomenal last year picking up 21 wickets in 17 matches at an economy rate of 6.73. His performance in this game against the likes of Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers will be pivotal for SRH's chances of winning.

The pace duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar & Siddharth Kaul, were electrifying last season as they shut down teams on a regular basis and led SRH to the final. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is one the best new ball and death bowlers in the world, but he seems to have lost his mojo in the death overs this season as he leaked over 20+ runs in an over in SRH's last 2 matches.

Siddharth Kaul had a career-best season last time around picking up 21 wickets in 17 matches at an economy rate of 8.28 and made his debut for the Indian national team based on his performances.

Sandeep Sharma was a new entrant into the squad last season. He played 12 matches in total claiming 12 wickets in them at an economy rate of 7.56. SRH think tank will include him as their 3rd pacer behind Bhuvi and Siddharth Kaul.

Shabaaz Nadeem is an experienced domestic campaigner and was a part of the deal that sent Shikhar Dhawan to the Delhi Capitals. He is a handy left-arm spinner.