Sunrisers Hyderabad: Playing XI Prediction for IPL 2018
What's the story
Sunrisers Hyderabad suffered a massive blow when David Warner was ruled out of the IPL.
Warner was handed a 12-month ban by Cricket Australia for his hand in the ball-tampering saga.
Despite Warner being a big miss, the Sunrisers boast a quality squad under the leadership of Kane Williamson.
How will the former IPL champion line up in this edition?
Openers
Shikhar Dhawan and Alex Hales
Shikhar Dhawan will undoubtedly open the innings for the Sunrisers and partnering him will be Alex Hales.
The Englishman will be playing his first IPL but do not doubt his big hitting prowess.
He is the only English player till date to score a T20I century.
Moreover, he is also the only Englishman who features in the top 10 of the ICC T20I rankings.
Middle Order
Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan
One of the fab fours of international cricket, Kane Williamson will shoulder the task of leading the middle order pack.
Joining him will be Manish Pandey, who was in a good nick in the recently concluded South Africa and Nidahas Trophy T20Is.
The dangerous Yusuf Pathan should make the XI for his big hitting and all-around abilities.
Lower middle order
Wriddhiman Saha and Carlos Brathwaite
Wriddhiman Saha is India's first choice Test wicket-keeper and will be the man behind the stumps for the Sunrisers.
Saha may be a Test cricketer but he recently slammed a 20 ball hundred in a local T20 game. He also has an IPL hundred to his name.
All-rounder Carlos Brathwaite is a no-brainer in the XI for his finishing abilities.
Bowlers
Rashid Khan, Bhuvi, Siddarth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma
Afghan teen sensation Rashid Khan is one of the most difficult spinners to read and should be the trump card.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who finished as the tournament's top wicket-taker in the last edition, is one of the first names on the team sheet.
Bhuvi will be partnered by Siddarth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma in the pace department.