Sunrisers Hyderabad are all set to begin to their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 campaign against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday. Led by new skipper and South Africa batter Aiden Markram, SRH will be coached by West Indies legend Brian Lara. Having won the title in 2016, SRH’s biggest issue has been their captaincy, with Australian opener David Warner and charismatic New Zealand batter Kane Williamson having to pay the price for the team’s debacle in the last two editions.

SRH have brought in India batter Mayank Agarwal to boost their top order, and in Harry Brook, they have signed one of the most exciting young players in the game.

Brook, 24, is being touted as the next big thing in England cricket. He is expected to play a huge role in the middle order and comes into his maiden IPL season with 2,432 runs from 99 T20s at a strike rate of 148.32.

Lara, who was the team’s strategic advisor and batting coach in 2022, has replaced Australian Tom Moody as head coach, which could give the West Indian legend more room to experiment with the batting order.

Apart from the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the team has Umran Malik, Jansen, T. Natarajan and Kartik Tyagi in the mix. Not to forget Afghanistan’s left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi, who is in the reserves.

However, the Hyderabad side doesn’t have quality spin-bowling options, with Adil Rashid expected to shoulder the maximum burden, though the England cricketer could get vital support from Sundar, Markram, Abhishek and Mayank Markande.

Apart from Mayank Agarwal and Rahul Tripathi, the team does not have an experienced Indian batter in the top order.

SRH Full IPL 2023 Schedule:

Match 1: April 2 – Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals, Hyderabad (3:30PM IST)
Match 2: April 7 – Lucknow Super Giants vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Lucknow (7:30PM IST)
Match 3: April 9 – Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Punjab Kings, Hyderabad (7:30PM IST)
Match 4: April 14 – Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kolkata (7:30PM IST)
Match 5: April 18 – Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Mumbai Indians, Hyderabad (7:30PM IST)
Match 6: April 21 – Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai (7:30PM IST)
Match 7: April 24 – Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Delhi Capitals, Hyderabad (7:30PM IST)
Match 8: April 29 – Delhi Capitals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi (7:30PM IST)
Match 9: May 4 – Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Hyderabad (7:30PM IST)
Match 10: May 7 – Rajasthan Royals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Jaipur (7:30PM IST)
Match 11: May 13 – Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Lucknow Super GIants, Hyderabad (3:30PM IST)
Match 12: May 15 – Gujarat Titans vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Ahmedabad (7:30PM IST)
Match 13: May 18 – Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Hyderabad (7:30PM IST)
Match 14: May 21 – Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai (3:30PM IST)

Strongest XI:

Abhishek Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Harry Brook, Heinrich Klassen, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Akeal Hosein, Umran Malik

Full Squad:

Players Bought in IPL 2023 Auction: Anmolpreet Singh (INR 20 lakh), Akeal Hosein (INR 1 crore), Nitish Kumar Reddy (INR 20 lakh), Mayank Dagar (INR 1.8 crore), Upendra Yadav (INR 25 lakh), Sanvir Singh (INR 20 lakh), Samarth Vyas (INR 20 lakh), Vivrant Sharma (INR 2.6 crore), Mayank Markande (INR 50 lakh), Adil Rashid (INR 2 crore), Heinrich Klaasen (INR 5.25 crore), Mayank Agarwal (INR 8.25 crore), Harry Brook (INR 13.25 crore)

Players Retained: Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kartik Tyagi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Umran Malik.

With PTI Inputs