Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) showed that big names, though helpful, may not guarantee success unless you utilize your other resources well. The David Warner-led side faced a lot of uphill battle during their IPL 2020 journey, but they still managed to reach the playoffs, in style and finished in the 3rd spot.
SRH had been dealt a blow even before the IPL auction as their star all-rounder, Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan was banned for a year from international cricket. Still, they decided to go into the auctions with a set plan and fill in some chinks in their armor.
Widely known as the best defending side in the IPL, SRH retained most of their bowlers from the past two years but splurged on additional firepower. They bought in Mitchell Marsh and Fabien Allen, two gun all-rounders to help Mohammad Nabi in the department. Also added T Natarajan as a death overs specialist.
They looked a very good unit but were soon hit by a slew of injuries to key players. They lost Mitchell Marsh in the first game of the IPL 13 season due to an ankle injury and then were dealt an even bigger blow, as they lost vice-captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar to a hip injury. This sent their management into a tizzy to find proper replacements for them.
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However, despite trying and testing different combinations, they didn’t find the right one until the last few games of the tournament, when Wriddhiman Saha opened with David Warner and Jason Holder was brought in the playing XI. Both of these players helped SRH win their last three games against Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Royal Challengers Bangalore, enabling them to qualify for the playoffs.
They eliminated RCB in the eliminator match, but couldn’t get past Delhi Capitals in the second qualifier and went home finishing third in the tournament. Kane Williamson, David Warner, Rashid Khan, T Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma, and Abdul Samad were some of the successful players who did amazingly well for the team.
But there were some players who didn’t quite live up to the expectations or didn’t perform as per reputation and TEAM COC takes a look at five such players whose performance was not up to the mark.
Check out the 5 biggest disappointments for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 13
