IPL 2022: From disastrous last season to Warner-Rashid's exit; Williamson-led SRH eye fresh start in quest for 2nd title

Led by Williamson, would look to gain early momentum in the tournament as they face Rajasthan Royals in their opening fixture on March 29 at the MCA Stadium, Pune.

Sunrisers Hyderabad needed a bit of tranquillity in their nucleus, especially after witnessing a nightmarish IPL 2021. Their campaign never got going amid the turmoil caused by coronavirus, and soon it transpired that the David Warner episode was just the tipping point. The Australian, who led Hyderabad to its maiden title win back in 2016, was sacked as captain midway through the season. To further disrupt the situation, Warner was dropped from the starting eleven with Williamson taking charge as the team's captain. It was the end of the road for Warner at the Sunrisers camp, who finished with the wooden spoon and recorded just three wins out of 14 games. (

Sunrisers Hyderabad gear up for new IPL season (Twitter/SunRisers)

Warner scored over 4000 runs during his stint with the franchise including three 600-plus IPL seasons. The consistency was a testament to his batting prowess. But the team has to move on from the fall-out, and Warner isn't the only prominent face to part ways with Hyderabad. One of the most consistent spinners in T20 cricket, Rashid Khan's separation with SRH was one of the most discussed events when the retention list was announced. It remains to see if Rashid's non-retention haunts the Orange Army this year but they reinforced their spin attack by picking up Shreyas Gopal and Jagadeesha Suchith for ₹75 lakh and ₹20 lakh respectively. But Rashid's exit has left the Sunrisers with massive boots to fill.

Before the auction, Hyderabad had retained Williamson (14 Cr) and the young pair of Abdul Samad (4 Cr) and Umran Malik (4 Cr). While Williamson gives them trust in the leadership bunch, Samad and Malik are bright prospects for the future. Samad will have added responsibility of strengthening the team's fickle middle-order and Malik's raw pace can help him enjoy a breakthrough season.

Talking about Williamson's captaincy prowess, the New Zealand figurehead has led SRH to 16 wins in 33 games with a win percentage of 48.48, which is only marginally behind Warner's record as the captain. Along with captaincy duties, Williamson will also orchestrate Hyderabad's opening mix despite his injury struggles. He's got an impressive record as an opener in T20s, having scored 1651 runs in 57 matches at 31.75.

Hyderabad have made some interesting buys as well. Nicholas Pooran had endured an abysmal IPL 2021 season for Punjab Kings scoring 85 runs at a poor average of 7.72. But despite his poor form, he fetched ₹10.75 crore from the Sunrisers. To catch up with other teams in the bidding frenzy, they roped in CPL sensation Romario Shepherd for ₹7.75 crore based on his all-round skills.

While many old faces including Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan made a return to the SRH set-up, the 2016 IPL champions bought Rahul Tripathi ( ₹8.5 Cr) to add depth to the batting panel. They also returned from the auction with a broad pool of all-rounders. Washington Sundar -- a proven performer in the T20 format with plenty of experience under his belt -- was picked up by them for ₹8.75 Cr. Abhishek Sharma also earned a ₹6.5 Cr paycheque due to his wide-ranging abilities.

As Sunrisers Hyderabad seek revival of fortunes after finishing with just six points last year, here is a SWOT analysis of the team:

Strength: Wide pool of pacers

Bhuvneshwar Kumar brings in a truckload of experience and he is expected to spearhead the Hyderabad pace attack this year. The seasoned bowler is the leading wicket-taker for Hyderabad with 118 wickets to his name. Overall, he's got 142 IPL plucks and needs just eight more to become the first Indian pacer to tick off the 150-wicket milestone in the T20 league. He'll be saddled with responsibility in the first six overs and during the death as well.

Natrajan, who will be making a return after recovering from a knee injury, also adds value to the fast bowling group with his left-arm pace option. He was the leading wicket-taker among all the pacers for SRH in IPL 2020 before getting ruled out of the next season. He has the experience of playing for India and Natarajan is expected to leave his mark this year in Indian conditions. In 24 games, he's got 20 wickets under his belt with most coming at the death. Talking about bowling towards the end, Hyderabad have got an excellent pick in Kartik Tyagi, who had defended four runs in the final over against Punjab Kings in IPL 2021.

Tyagi is expected to work in tandem with Umran Malik, who has got the ability to clock the 150 kph mark with ease. The Jammu and Kashmir player had turned heads with raw pace, which was also the key element behind his retention. While the Sunrisers have four terrific Indian pacers, their foreign picks are also splendid. They have got Marco Jansen, Sean Abbott, and Shepherd to further strengthen the fast bowling department.

Weakness: Lack of depth in spin attack

Along with Rashid, the Sunrisers have also lost Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. The departure of the Afghanistan troika leaves the franchise with just two specialist spinners -- Shreyas Gopal and Jagadeesha Suchith. But the Hyderabad think-tank will perhaps turn towards Washington Sundar, who can be a handy option with the ball.

The former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) cricketer has got 27 wickets in 42 games but his economy rate puts him in a different league altogether. Only Rashid had a better economy rate than Sundar among spinners in the league since 2020. A lowly economy rate of 6.30 is certainly going to tempt Hyderabad to try out the Tamil Nadu player as a pivotal spin bowling alternative.

Opportunity: Plenty of youngsters

With no burden of expectations after an eight-place finish, youngsters in the Hyderabad camp will see the impending season as a perfect opportunity to showcase their talent. The likes of Umran and Samad have already shown glimpses of their potential but the pair needs to repay the faith shown in them. Umran belongs to the rare breed of speed merchants who have the ability to clock 150 kph in modern-day cricket. He will be seen bowling some thunderbolts while Samad sets sights on achieving consistency.

Samad has a strike-rate close to 150 with 222 runs in 23 games. With him batting at the No. 5 position, the franchise will expect the youngster to contribute at the death. The team also features the Abhishek Sharma-Priyam Garg pair, which has performed but not on a consistent basis. Kartik Tyagi, who joined the growing rank of Indian pacers with a defining over against Punjab last season, also has a point to prove.

Threat: Volatile batting unit

There was a clamour for change after a disastrous IPL season, and it's safe to say that Hyderabad have made some intriguing buys at the auction. While skipper Williamson forms the fulcrum of their batting, Nicholas Pooran and Rahul Tripathi add dimension to their group. But both the batters have a point to prove. Pooran recently scored three consecutive fifties against India but he's got a ghastly IPL season to overcome. His highest score last year was 32 and he managed to post just 85 from 12 games including a string of ducks.

The West Indies dasher has got the reputation of being among the attacking batters in T20 cricket and he will look to achieve the consistency that matches his high strike rate (154.99). Tripathi will also look to be among the runs, having scored close to 400 runs last year. The uncapped Indian has got plenty of IPL experience under his belt but it remains to be seen whether he'll open alongside Williamson or Aiden Markram gets a chance at the top. But Tripathi has got big shoes to fill of Warner and Jonny Bairstow.

Led by Kane Williamson, SRH would look to gain early momentum in the tournament as they face Rajasthan Royals in their opening fixture on March 29 at the MCA Stadium in Pune.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) squad: Kane Williamson (C), Abdul Samad, Umran Malik, Washington Sundar, Nicholas Pooran, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Priyam Garg, Rahul Tripathi, Abhishek Sharma, Karik Tyagi, Shreyas Gopal, Jagadeesha Suchith, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Romario Shepherd, Sean Abbott, R Samarth, Saurabh Dubey, Shashank Singh, Vishnu Vinod, Glenn Philips, Fazalhaq Farooqi