A few weeks back, all the IPL teams released the list of retained and released players. There were some obvious names on the list but some were surprising for all the cricket fans.
Especially, in the list of released players, the most surprising name was Kane Williamson. The Hyderabad-based franchise released their former captain from the squad.
Many factors went against Kane Williamson like his performance last season and his average performance in the T20 World Cup. Now, as the IPL 2023 auction is coming soon, the pressure is on the owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad to find the best replacement for current New Zealand captain Kane Williamson. It’s a mini-auction so most of the top cricketers in the world are not in the pool.
After qualifying for the playoffs for 5 consecutive seasons from 2016-20, Hyderabad’s performance in the last few seasons went down. This happened mainly because of the instability in the leadership and the poor relationship between management and the captain.
In 2021, they released their most successful player David Warner from the team and now they have released Kane Williamson. The management of Sunrisers Hyderabad will try to bring in a player who can lead the side and also change the matches with his performance. Let’s see who can take the place of Kane Williamson in the IPL-16.
1. BEN STOKES
Since the T20 format entered the cricket world, all-rounders have played a key role in it. Due to the all-rounders that clubs like Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians have possessed over the years, they have dominated more in the IPL.
Hyderabad will make every effort to have Ben Stokes in their line-up because he is currently one of the top match winners in the globe. Ben Stokes can lead Sunrisers Hyderabad, bowl four overs, and provide strong middle-order stability.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will find it difficult, though, since every other team would work hard to get a star player like Ben Stokes to join their roster. It will be intriguing to see where and at what price the English all-rounder goes in the IPL-16 auction.
2. HARRY BROOK
An attacking middle-order batter from England, Harry Brook can become a million-dollar player in the coming auction. This will be his first time in the biggest cricket league in the world. Currently, he is an impact player for England in T20 and known for his attacking batting in the middle overs.
In the past few seasons, one of the reasons for the failure of Sunrisers Hyderabad is the unstable middle order and lack of a solid T20 batter in the middle. Harry Brook can fill that void in their team and become a match-winner for them in IPL 2023.
3. MAYANK AGARWAL
The 31-year-old opener is currently up for bidding in the IPL auction after 4 years with Punjab Kings.
Some supporters were taken aback by Punjab’s decision to cut Mayank Agarwal from their squad. Sunrisers Hyderabad should consider adding Mayank Agarwal to their line-up.
Mayank is a skilled batter with the capacity to extend innings. Another benefit of having Mayank Agarwal on their team is the ability to bowl or bat with the luxury of a second foreign player.
4. JASON ROY
Another attacking English batter, Jason Roy can also replace Kane Williamson in Sunrisers Hyderabad.
A few years back, he was part of Sunrisers Hyderabad but didn’t get much chance. Currently, Roy is one of the very few batters in world cricket who can dominate an opponent’s bowling line-up with his attacking approach. Most of the teams already have good attacking openers hence, the chances of inclusion of Roy in Hyderabad are high.
5. RILEE ROSSOUW
In recent times, Rilee Rossouw has come up as one of the top performers in T20 cricket. In the last 2 months, he has scored 2 centuries in the shortest format of the game including one in the World Cup against Bangladesh.
The Proteas batter is one of the rare batters in World cricket who is technically sound and plays attacking cricket. He can score runs at the same rate against both spin and pace bowling.
In the IPL 2023 mini-auction, he’s going to be on the top of the list of every franchise. Rilee Rossouw will be a perfect replacement for Kane Williamson for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Conclusion: Here, we concluded that Sunrisers Hyderabad will try to include a hard-hitting foreign T20 batter in their team in place of Kane Williamson. Other than a solid middle-order batter maybe they will also go star T20 all-rounder like – Ben Stokes.
FAQs:
- Why did Sunrisers Hyderabad release Kane Williamson from their team?
Ans: The major factor for the release of Kane Williamson from Sunrisers Hyderabad is his average performance in IPL-15 and the decline in his T20 form at the international level as well.
- Who’s the all-time best for Sunrisers Hyderabad, David Warner or Kane Williamson?
Ans: Both Warner and Williamson played a huge role for Sunrisers Hyderabad as batsmen and captains as well but overall Hyderabad got more success under David Warner. In 2016, Sunrisers Hyderabad won their only title under the leadership of David Warner.
- Are the owner of Sunrisers Hyderabad and the previous Hyderabad-based franchise (Deccan Chargers) the same?
Ans: No, the owner of Sunrisers Hyderabad and the franchise Deccan Chargers Hyderabad are not the same. Sunrisers Hyderabad’s owner is Kalanithi Maran of the SUN Group.
