Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL 2023 Preview

After a pair of disappointing eighth-placed finishes over the last two seasons, the Sunrisers Hyderabad have undergone a complete overhaul ahead of the 2023 campaign. After leading the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to victory in the inaugural edition of SA20, Aiden Markram was chosen to replace the released Kane Williamson as captain, while Brian Lara takes over from Tom Moody as the head coach.

The Sunrisers also made sweeping changes at the auction by bringing in the likes of Mayank Agarwal, Harry Brook, Heinrich Klaasen and Adil Rashid into the squad, and the Men in Orange will look to reverse their fortunes in the IPL with their new-look side in 2023.

Player to watch out for: Harry Brook

Harry Brook’s stocks have risen immeasurably over the last 12 months, with the England international starring across all three formats for his country. Brook was part of England’s T20 World Cup winning side in Australia in 2022 and has also enjoyed a dream start to his Test career, averaging 80.9 across his first ten innings.

Strengths

The Sunrisers batting unit blew hot and cold for large parts of last season, but the Men in Orange have revamped their line-up in 2023. Mayank Agarwal forms a dangerous opening combination with left-hander Abhishek Sharma, while Rahul Tripathi has been one of the best Indian top order batters in the IPL over the last few years.

Backing up the Indian top three is a trio of quality overseas stars in the skipper Aiden Markram, Harry Brook and one of Heinrich Klaasen or the breakout star of the 2022 T20 World Cup, Glenn Phillips.

The Sunrisers also boast the deepest pool of Indian fast bowling talent in the competition, with a variety of options to use in the starting XI and as an impact player. The Sunrisers could field a trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, and T Natarajan in their line-up and also have promising speedster Kartik Tyagi waiting in the wings.

Weaknesses

The departure of Rashid Khan left a massive void in SRH’s bowling attack last season, and the Men in Orange are yet to adequately replace the Afghanistan leg-spinner.

Hyderabad have signed on England leg-spinner Adil Rashid to their squad for this season, but the World Cup winner isn’t guaranteed to start every game as an overseas player, leaving Washington Sundar and part-timers Aiden Markram and Abhishek Sharma as the only spin options in the XI.

Probable Playing XI

Mayank Agarwal, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Harry Brook, Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Adil Rashid, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, T Natarajan