IPL 2019: 3 players who could be surplus at SRH

The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) went into the IPL auction with a distinct plan. Last season's finalists have a settled squad, with a neat mix of young and experienced players in their arsenal.

They have bought back Wriddhiman Saha at a cheaper price of 1.2 crore INR. In the last season, SRH had bought Saha for a whopping price of five crore INR, and they released him in the trading window last month. Also, they have bought Jonny Bairstow and Martin Guptill for 2.2 crore INR and one crore INR respectively.

The new arrivals have made a few existing players surplus to the 2016 IPL champions. Here are the three SRH players who could be surplus in the upcoming season:

#1 Mohammad Nabi

The 33-year-old cricketer is one of the legends of the Afghanistan cricket team. Nabi has played 190 T20 games so far, amassing 1876 runs at a strike-rate of 143.12. The all-rounder is technically shrewd and also has the ability to score maximums with ease. He has scored 186 sixes so far in his T20 career.

Nabi is one of the few T20 spinners who can bowl in the power-play overs. He has taken a whopping 210 wickets from his 190 matches.

The most striking aspect of Nabi's bowling is his astonishing economy rate. Despite bowling predominantly in the power-plays, his economy rate stands at 6.90 runs per over.

Nabi, however, will likely warm the bench again this season. With the likes of international players like David Warner, Kane Williamson, Rashid Khan, Shakib Al Hasan, and Billy Stanlake in the squad, it will be tough for Nabi to get a consistent run in the playing XI.

He played just three matches in 2017 and two matches in the 2018 season, with limited success. Nabi is costing one crore INR to SRH, and will definitely be a surplus resource because of the presence of multiple international stars in the SRH squad.

#2 T Natarajan

Natarajan couldn't replicate his TNPL success in the IPL

Natarajan came into the limelight during the 2016 TNPL tournament where he represented the Dindigul Dragons. He bagged 10 wickets in the 7 matches he played in that season.

Natarajan was the star of the IPL 2017 auction as Kings XI Punjab grabbed him for a whopping three crore INR.

However, the Salem-born fast bowler couldn't justify his price tag as took just two wickets from his six games in the 2017 season. Later, SRH purchased him during the IPL 2018 auction at a price of 40 lakh INR.

He never got a chance to showcase his potential with SRH as they have a wealth of fast bowlers in their arsenal. But surprisingly, the 2016 champions decided to retain Natarajan despite having a lot of Indian fast bowlers.

SRH currently have Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, Basil Thampi, Sandeep Sharma and Billy Stanlake, all of whom are ahead of Natarajan in the pecking order for selection.

#3 Shreevats Goswami

Goswami will have to fight Bairstow and Saha for the wicket-keeper slot

Sunrisers Hyderabad have made a smart move by releasing Wriddhiman Saha for five crore INR and buying him back for 1.2 crore INR in the auction. They have also bought England's wicket-keeping batsman Jonny Bairstow for a bargain price of 2.2 crore INR.

Bairstow is one of the most in-form batsmen of 2018 and will straight-away feature in the playing XI.

Having bought two primary wicket-keepers in the auction, SRH are unlikely to look at Goswami as a wicket-keeping option. The left-handed batsman played six games in the last season, but scored just 52 runs at a dismal average of 17.33.

It was a surprise decision by SRH to not release Goswami, as his contribution was very limited in the last season.

That said, Bairstow will not be available towards the end of the 2019 IPL because of his international commitments. Goswami will act as a back-up wicket-keeper to Saha in Bairstow's absence.