According to Aakash Chopra, SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) is a solid team entering IPL 2024.
In IPL 2023, SRH claimed only four victories and finished in last place. Their squad remains largely unchanged. They released Harry Brook, who cost ₹13.25 crore. Pat Cummins (₹20.50 crore) and Travis Head (₹6.80 crore) are their priciest acquisitions.
Aakash Chopra aired his thoughts on a YouTube video-he believes the SunRisers Hyderabad had the right mix to fight for a playoff spot in the prior IPL season. Here’s what he shared:
“This is one team that is looking rock solid on paper. The team was good last year as well. If you saw on paper, they were an excellent team. They should have qualified for sure but were revolving around the bottom of the table.”
Aakash Chopra
The former opener for India believes the 2016 IPL champions would challenge for the championship in the next season of the esteemed competition. He thought to himself:
“When the team was good last year, didn’t release too many players, and have strengthened the team even further, they should reach the top four. I won’t be surprised at all if they are seen close to the podium.”
Aakash Chopra
Sunrisers Hyderabad, or SRH, got some new faces at the auction. Cummins and Head are in, with others like Wanindu Hasaranga, Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh, and Jhathavedh Subramanyan. That’s not all, as another move was made before the auction where SRH traded Mayank Dagar for Shahbaz Ahmed, courtesy of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Aakash Chopra impressed by SunRisers Hyderabad’s smart purchase of Wanindu Hasaranga
Aakash Chopra believes Wanindu Hasaranga was a smart and savvy purchase for the SunRisers Hyderabad. His explanation:
“Their steal of the (auction) day was Wanindu Hasaranga because they got him at his base price of 1.50 crores, which wasn’t a chance at all. It became a very good buy because they had Mayank Markande, Washington Sundar and now they have Wanindu Hasaranga.”
Aakash Chopra
The renowned analyst believes SRH may use the Sri Lankan all-rounder as their fourth foreign player, joining Pat Cummins, Travis Head, and Heinrich Klaasen. He went on to say:
“If they want, they can leave Marco Jansen and Glenn Phillips out because they can play Abdul Samad there. So they can play Wanindu Hasaranga, Washington Sundar and Mayank Markande. That makes it three spinners and then Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik and Pat Cummins.”
Aakash Chopra
Chopra stated that the SunRisers Hyderabad may experiment with their lineup because they have a battery of Indian quick bowlers. Furthermore, Shahbaz Ahmed and Hasaranga’s additions have strengthened their spin-bowling department.