In the last IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) failed to offer their supporters anything solid as they finished eighth with just six wins. After witnessing shambolic performances under Kane Williamson’s leadership, the franchise parted ways with him and many other big names.
SRH participated in last month’s mini-auction with a budget of Rs 42.25 billion. The event was attended by notable players such as Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, Adil Rashid and Akeal Hosein. In addition to those names, the franchise purchased South African wicketkeeper Bate, Heinrich Klaasen, who does not have a decent record in the league. The Protea hitter was signed for a whopping sum of INR 5.25 crore, but instead of him the franchise should have picked another amazing hitter in the T20 format in recent months.
Travis Head
Travis Head is a name you can trust in the Big Bash League (BBL). His punching power has helped Adelaide win many games with the Strikers. The left-hander scored his 1,375 runs in his 56 games for the team, and his strike rate was his 132.59. Last month, he entered his 2023 IPL auction and was the first successful bidder in five years.
In this case, he went unsold because the franchise didn’t raise the bidding paddle to sign him. Despite more than a decade of experience with BBL, he was snubbed by the franchise. He also played his 17 games for Australia in the national team, scoring 345 runs and a hit percentage he had of 133.20.
But these facts and figures didn’t help him find a buyer in a mini-auction, where the Australian wicketkeeper put his name up for a base prize of Rs 200 crore. Considering his base amount, SRH could have included him in the squad instead of his Heinrich Klaasen, whose IPL record resembles his Head.
Dasun Shanaka
Last year, Dasun Shanaka showed his leadership qualities as Sri Lanka won the Asian Cup after eight years as captain. Not only as a skipper, but also as a hitter, he showed his class in a do-or-die game, making several at-bats that were important to the team.
Given his potential, SRH should have acquired him in a mini-auction. His all-around skills may have turned him into a lucrative deal for Sunrisers, as the franchise showed no interest in him: in a must-win match against India, he scored his 33rd run, It produced an 18-ball game-ending inning. Rather than buying Klaasen, it might have been a better idea to sign Shanaka for a base price of Rs.500,000. With Sunrisers already recruiting Glenn Phillips as their wicketkeeper batsman, they should have brought in a Sri Lankan skipper who could contribute to the team with both bat and ball next season.
Dawid Malan
Dawid Malan is a famous player of the T20 Internationals due to his fearless style of batting. In his six years of experience with the T20I, he has won many matches for the England national team with tremendous batting power. To date, Maran has scored 1,748 runs in his 55 games with a batting average of 135.71 for him. Due to its impressive score in T20Is, the left-handed racquet entered the 2023 mini-auction and was featured in the 16th edition of the IPL. However, things did not turn out in his favor as he was snubbed by all the buyers. In early 2022, the franchise company also rejected his bid at a mega-auction.
At the Kochi event, the Sunrisers put their trust in Klaasen. But instead of Klaasen, the franchise should have gotten Maran, who has a better batting average in T20Is. In 2022 Maran was impressive with a racket batting 132.20 and he hit 509 runs in his T20I of 19.