Until their lackluster performance in the 2020 version of IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) was the perfect example of a prodigal team.
Founded in 2013 after the Deccan Chargers were declared defunct by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Sunrisers Hyderabad delivered one solid performance after another securing berths in the playoffs season after season.
SRH qualified for the playoffs in the first-ever edition of the IPL that they played in 2013. SRH failed to qualify for the next couple of editions ending up sixth on the points table both times. However, in the 2016 edition, SRH went all the way to defeat an imperious-looking Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the finals becoming champions and getting their first trophy.
Thereafter, SRH qualified for the playoffs for the next five consecutive seasons becoming only the third team after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) to do so. The team became especially famous for its ability to defend low targets due to its disciplined bowling attack drawing the limelight away from the otherwise batsman-friendly format.
Their dream run, however, came to an abrupt halt in IPL 2021. With only three wins from fourteen games, SRH finished last on the table.
As the team’s table ranking plummeted, so did its favor with the IPL betting sites. SRH was usually considered a safe team to bet upon for their knack of quietly making statements with their performances. However, as the tournament progressed, the IPL odds just kept getting higher which is not something a team wants to see.
Sunrisers Hyderabad have odds of 13.00 to win IPL 2022 on most IPL betting sites. That is what one bad season can do to you in the world’s biggest commercial cricket league.
This is a story similar to that of CSK. In IPL 2020, CSK failed to qualify for the playoffs for only the first time since their inception excluding a couple of years they did not play due to a ban.
Bookmakers and cricket pundits were quick to write CSK off calling it a team of seniors not suitable enough to play a younger players’ format. Next season, CSK replied in style by going on to win the IPL 2021.
Are the 13.00 betting odds justified for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2022 IPL? Or have the bookies got it all wrong going solely by the performance in the previous version of the IPL?
All things considered, the odds of 13.00 do not do justice to a team like Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Our experts believe that a resilient team like SRH will surely learn from experience bouncing back as strong as ever. But more than us, the team needs to believe it.
We predict that Sunrisers Hyderabad will emerge as dark horses again going on to qualify for the playoffs in the IPL 2022
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One of the main reasons for SRH’s consistency was its impressive array of Indian medium pacers who set the tone for the match with their tight lengths and varied deliveries. No other team’s bowlers used cutters and slower ones with such deadly accuracy as the SRH bowlers.
Over the last few years, almost all of those bowlers have gone on to feature for the national side as well. However, except for captain Kane Williamson, SRH did not choose to retain any of its proven performers. Instead, it retained two uncapped Indian youngsters, Abdul Samad and Umran Malik.
Abdul Samad is a handy lower-middle order batsman who fills the valuable slot of a pinch hitter which is something SRH had been lacking severely. In the few matches he played in 2021, Samad proved himself to be a clean hitter of the ball smashing reputed international bowlers for huge sixes.
Umran Malik, on the other hand, made headlines as he regularly clocked 150 km on the clock with the ball which is a rare impressive feat for an Indian pacer.
Kane Williamson, Umran Malik, Abdul Samad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nicholas Pooran, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tripathi, T Natarajan, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Abhishek Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Kartik Tyagi, Shreyas Gopal, J Suchith, R Samarth, Shashank Singh, Priyam Garg, Saurabh Dubey, Glenn Phillips, Vishnu Vinod, and Fazalhaq Farooqi
Having retained Samad and Malik for an inexpensive cut-off price, SRH went into the mega auction with a wallet heavier than the other teams. It gave them the freedom to bid high for some quality players picking up a great squad.
SRH bought back its old warhorse Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Also back in the team are medium-pacer T Natarajan and young all-rounder Abhishek Sharma.
The new international additions to the team are Nicholas Pooran and his teammate Romario Shepherd. SRH also bought Aiden Markram, pacer Marco Jansen, Australian pacer Sean Abbott, and Kiwi T20 specialist Glenn Philips.
New domestic players to join the Orange Army are the reliable opener, Rahul Tripathi, former RCB all-rounder Washington Sundar, spinner Shreyas Gopal, and pacer Kartik Tyagi, who gathered praise from one and all for his performance with the Rajasthan Royals last year.
With the idea of putting a forgettable season behind them and making a statement, SRH might prove to be dangerous customers for all other teams. They will surely perform much better than their previous outing and are well expected to reach the playoffs despite the IPL betting odds.
Captain Kane Williamson was the orange cap holder in 2017. While he may not be able to conjure an encore, the team will surely rely on him to anchor the innings.
Rahul Tripathi might be another batsman who can be expected to carry the team’s scorecard on his shoulders.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been a mainstay of the Indian national side and has won the purple cap for most wickets in the IPL twice in 2016 and 2018.
While some might feel that his glory days are over, our experts disagree claiming that Bhuvneshwar Kumar might well be the top performer with the ball for SRH this year too.
Nicholas Pooran and Romario Shepherd are the two players to watch out for. The West Indians are known as T20 specialists and all one needs to do is watch these two in action to know why.
Pooran, the current captain of West Indies, is in red-hot form while Shepherd is a handy batsman lower down the order.
