Can Sunrisers Hyderabad sort out their middle-order woes in IPL 2021?

IPL 2021: SRH go in with a stable squad with a lot of players retained from last year. They did not go big in the auctions as their biggest buys were Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Kedar Jadhav.

Sunrisers Hyderabad have been one of the most consistent sides in the IPL over the last few years. The team has qualified for the playoffs in every edition since 2015. But they would be eager to clinch their first title in 5 years in the Indian Premier League 2021 edition.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad unit. File (SRH/Twitter)

SRH qualified for the finals in 2018 but failed to overcome a returning Chennai Super Kings’ side. Last year, SRH under the leadership of David Warner qualified for the playoffs and came third as they lost the eliminator to Delhi Capitals.

This year, SRH go in with a stable squad with the core team retained from last year. The franchise did not go big at the auctions as their biggest buys were Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Kedar Jadhav. David Warner will again be the captain of the side with Kane Williamson being his deputy.

Sunrisers Hyderabad SWOT analysis for IPL 2021:

Strengths: Batsmen at the top

Sunrisers Hyderabad have a lethal top-order with the likes of Warner, Bairstow, Manish Pandey, and Williamson. Add Jason Roy to the list now, who has come in as Mitchell Marsh's replacement, and you have plenty of options for opening combinations.

Weakness: Middle-order

It has been Sunrisers’ Achilles heel in the last two editions with no names in the lower middle-order able to provide consistency to the side. Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad have been trusted with the job but their inexperience has shown in big matches. Maybe the addition of Kedar Jadhav can change their fortunes.

Opportunity: Avoid choking in knockouts

They have reached the playoffs in the last four editions after winning in 2015 but have failed to turn up in crucial matches. They were outplayed by CSK in the IPL 2018 final while losing out in playoffs in the last two editions. SRH would be looking to finally win the coveted title this year.

Threats: Problem of plenty

At the start of IPL 2020, SRH failed to strike the right combination in the batting order. They had a lot of batsmen at the top but continued to lose matches due to the inability of the middle-order. Even Williamson had to miss out several games due to it. This year they would look to start the season with a bang play their best XI from the start. But how will they accommodate Mohammad Nabi, Jason Holder, Kane Williamson, Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman in the playing XI, it remains to be seen.

Sunrisers Hyderabad squad: David Warner (c), Kane Williamson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Manish Pandey, Sreevats Goswami (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Virat Singh, Jason Roy, Jason Holder, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T. Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Siddarth Kaul, Basil Thampi, Jagadeesha Suchith, Kedar Jadhav, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman