After Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) second consecutive defeat, this time to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday (September 26) in Abu Dhabi, at the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, former India batsman-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra expressed worries over the team's destiny in the tournament.
Chopra put special attention on SRH's batting issues, as the team once again relies heavily on explosive overseas openers Jonny Bairstow and David Warner, also their skipper, apart from No.3 Manish Pandey to do the bulk of the damage and lacks experience and consistency in the middle-order.
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To fill this massive gap, Chopra believes SRH should bring in Kane Williamson, their captain in the previous season and solid New Zealand batsman, who unfortunately misses out because they can only field four overseas cricketers in an XI.
Besides the fantastic opening duo of Warner and Bairstow, premier wrist-spinner Rashid Khan and rotated lower-order all-rounders such as Mohammad Nabi, who replaced injured Mitchell Marsh after the first match, usually fill up those slots for SRH, leaving Williamson on the benches.
"There was no Mitchell Marsh, so they had to play Nabi, which is alright. Williamson looks fit because during the mid-match interview, he never said he was injured. Why would not play Williamson if he is fit and available?" said Chopra in the latest video over his YouTube channel after SRH's seven-wicket loss to KKR.
"They need to find a way to bring Williamson into the scheme of things. Without Williamson, this team doesn't look strong. The batting doesn't look solid. If it doesn't, you can only manage 140 and not 180s."
In a mid-match interview given to host broadcaster Star Sports, Williamson denied any fitness concerns, contrary to what skipper Warner had mentioned to justify his exclusion in the first match versus Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The right-hand Kiwi batsman said he is ready to play whenever the team needs him.
"Body's pretty good. A small niggle early on, but fine at the moment," Williamson said. "The odd ones (niggles) in the last year. Fortunately, not too much that I missed out on a lot of cricket. We have had a lot of time off, the opportunity to get into the gym. We always deal with these little things and try to get on top of them sooner."
"Yeah, available (for the next game), ready. I guess it's always the balance between the players you want to pick, the areas you want to address and the surfaces that you are presented with and the opposition," he added.
Chopra thinks the fact that SRH's lead bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid haven't been at their best, has only added to the team's woes.
"They have problems with bowling. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is not the same bowler, Rashid is not the same bowler. If others don't step up, they are going to be one of the weaker sides. Looks like a bottom 4 side at the moment," he concluded.
