Former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull discussed SunRisers Hyderabad’s overseas selection in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction. Simon Doull raised questions about SunRisers Hyderabad’s dynamics with the inclusion of Australian skipper Pat Cummins.
SunRisers Hyderabad entered the mini-auction with a purse of Rs 34 crore. The franchise spent the majority of its budget on Pat Cummins, acquiring him for a whopping Rs 20.5 crore. They purchased a total of six players in the auction, including three overseas players.
Does Aiden Markram Play Every Game Now? – Simon Doull
In a conversation with Star Sports, Simon Doull highlighted the challenge of including Pat Cummins in the team. Doull speculated on whether Aiden Markram would play every game and if Cummins might take over the franchise’s leadership.
“Maybe they are looking for a captain. We have joked a little bit about it. Does (Aiden) Markram play every game now? They haven’t announced their skipper. Does Pat Cummins take over that franchise? Does he come in and play a lot more instead of a (Marco) Jansen next year for them?” Simon Doull told Star Sports.
“That’s going to be the question mark. Now that you have paid all this money, you have got to get him into that team. Where does he start and whose place does he take? They have got a lot of high-quality overseas talent,” he added.
SRH secured the services of Australian opener Travis Head for Rs 6.8 crore. They signed Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga for his base price of Rs 1.5 crore. They also acquired Jaydev Unadkat for Rs 1.6 crore and added Akash Singh (Rs 20 lakh) and Jhathavedh Subramanyan (Rs 20 lakh) to their roster.
SunRisers Have Had An Outstanding Auction – Tom Moody
Tom Moody noted that SunRisers Hyderabad had an outstanding auction, offering them numerous options and match-winners. However, he emphasized the challenge they face in determining their best combination and effectively communicating it.
“I think SunRisers have had an outstanding auction. They have covered every single base. The biggest challenge they are going to face is what is their best combination and trying to create a pathway to that best XI but also to communicate that, which is not going to be easy,” Moddy said.
“They have got a lot of options there. They have got a lot of match-winners. The one thing we don’t know is who is going to captain this side. One thing we do know is that I heard Muttiah Muralitharan during the auction that they were thrilled to get Travis Head because they wanted him as an opener.”
“That tells me one of Abhishek Sharma, Mayank Agarwal and Rahul Tripathi is missing out because you can’t obviously have Head up there amongst all those others. It’s going to be very interesting to see how they find their best combination, both from an overseas and domestic perspective.”
SRH has eight overseas players in their squad, including Aiden Markram, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Glenn Phillips, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, Travis Head, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Pat Cummins. However, there will be a challenge in selecting the lineup due to the IPL rule allowing only four foreigners in the playing XI.
