Last Updated on 1 month by Charbel Coorey
IPL 2021 Auction: 5 players SRH can target for IPL 2021 | 5 players Sunrisers Hyderabad could buy for the upcoming IPL 2021 season
Sunrisers Hyderabad has been one of the most consistent outfits in recent years in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). One of the major reasons for the success that SRH has endured over the years has been largely attributed to their smart team management and other members of the think tank.
They’ve been very impressive with their auction strategies almost every year and it was no different this season. SRH has retained the core by trusting most of its players from the last season. The side, however, released Sanjay Yadav, Sandeep Bhavanka, Billy Stanlake, Fabian Allen, and Yarra Prithviraj ahead of the mini auction on February 18.
So, heading into the auction, SRH need to address some issues with their squad. The first of them would be the problem of a lower middle-order batsman. Since the departure of Yusuf Pathan, there hasn’t been any player who can fill the boots of a finisher. They also need to look at finding an Indian pool of established and consistent players who can prove to be suitable backups for their first-choice players.
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5. Sherfane Rutherford
The hard-hitting 22-year-old southpaw has the reputation of being a ferocious lower-order batsman. He has played 7 games for the side without much success picking one wicket and scoring 73 runs with the willow. The Guyanese all-rounders breakthrough season was in 2018 while playing the CPL he accumulated 171 runs at a strike rate of 142.5 which earned him a national call-up. If given a go he would look to replicate the same form to have a breakthrough season in the IPL. Rutherford has the power game and the advantage with him is he’s a left-hander, which can push his case ahead of Mitchell Marsh and Jason Holder. With the ball too he can chip in with a few overs and with his cutters into the deck he can pick an odd wicket or two.
4. Jalaj Saxena
Jalaj Saxena is a spin-bowling all-rounder who is very useful as an off-spinner in T20 cricket. He’s been a stalwart in the domestic circuit for years now. Barring Mohammad Nabi, the orange army lacks a local off-spinning option, and Jalaj can be a very good buy as he is now consistently performing in domestic cricket.
He got 10 wickets in five matches during the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2020/21. Saxena could offer a lot of variety with his off-spin and could turn out to be a smart recruit. He has also played for India A and was part of the Delhi Capitals set up before being released ahead of this year’s IPL auction. The 34-year-old has the experience of bowling to top-class batsmen as well, despite not having played international cricket yet.
3. Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan is a dyed-in-the-wool finisher and this breed comes rare in the game. With his performances, he has earned the title of being a match-winner with the bat in the domestic circuit. He caught everyone’s eyes after conjuring a blinder, a 19-ball unbeaten 40 in the Quarter Final against Himachal Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He can be an impact player for SRH in the lower order.
SRH has always been a team that backs young Indian players and one could see that last year in 2020. The 25-year-old has played in 31 T20 matches and has a strike rate of 131.29. So, this means that he can assist SRH’s top-order during tough chases.
2. Riley Meredith
Riley Meredith is an exciting right-arm quick from Australia who is yet to make his first appearance in the biggest T20 league in the World. The cricketer has gone unsold in both the previous auctions of the cash-rich league he applied in.
Meredith is coming off a good BBL 10 with 16 wickets to his name in 13 innings at an average of 24.60 and an economy of just under 8 runs per over. He can be a decent option for SRH’s bowling line-up with Bhuvneshwar Kumar expected to spearhead the attack along with Jason Holder, T. Natarajan, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, and Basil Thampi. SRH has parted ways with Stanlake and Meredith can be a like-for-like replacement for him. He can clock 90+MPH easily and can bowl at any phase of the game.
Also read: 5 BBL stars who could get an IPL 2021 contract
1. Shakib Al Hasan
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan recently made his comeback in international cricket after serving a one-year ban from ICC. He has been part of the SRH setup in the past and knows this franchise well.
Shakib can be a reliable middle-order batsman and can easily bowl 4 overs every game in the IPL; be it powerplay or middle overs, Shakib is a reliable entity with the ball. SRH’s middle-order lacked a left-handed batsman in the mix as Abhishek Sharma only played a handful of games. On slow wickets, he can play ahead of Jason Holder. Together with Rashid, he’ll form a potent spin duo. The 33-year-old has played 63 games in the league, scoring 746 runs in addition to picking up 59 wickets.
The comeback of the former Bangladesh skipper will mean that the leadership group will strengthen as there’s already Kane Williamson, Jason Holder to support captain David Warner.
These were the 5 players that SRH can look to pick in this auction. Do let us know your picks.
Thanks for reading!
Written by Robin Rounder. Follow Robin on Twitter today.
