India opener Shikhar Dhawan has been named captain of the Indian Premier League (IPL) side Sunrisers Hyderabad as they prepare for the qualifying stages of the Champions League t20 (CLt20).
An Indian player leading the side gives the franchise more options and will be a popular move. Dhawan was also eager to take the reins. “I have captained the Delhi team for a while now but this is a new challenge. It’s an honour to lead a team like the Sunrisers because it has some big players, and I am really looking forward to it.”
“Having excelled in the Indian team over the recent past, Shikhar has dominated as a batsman and has been more than consistent,” head coach Tom Moody said. “He is a complete package as a player and is considered a real team man. That’s why we have decided to elevate him and make him our new captain.”
Kumar Sangakkara, the original Sunriser’s skipper in the IPL, has opted to play for the Kandurata Maroons, while Australian Cameron White becomes a squad man after taking charge in the latter part of the IPL campaign.
Dhawan is crucial to the Sunrisers’ top order, but adds the pressure of captaincy to a run of consistent performances including a Man-of-the-Series display in the Champions Trophy where he scored a tournament-leading 363 runs, and a record-breaking 248 for the A team against South Africa A in Pretoria.
Steyn to roar back after three-month injury break
Dale Steyn (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Dale Steyn, the South Africa fast bowler, makes his return after a three month absence. He last played against West Indies during the Champions Trophy in June. Injuries subsequently forced him to miss South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka in July.
“There’s nothing better than a bit of game time,” Steyn said. “Playing a Twenty20 game, you’re still out in the field on your feet. You’re still bowling your overs at high intensity.”
“After the Champions Trophy in England, people will remember I didn’t play a lot of cricket there. I ended up with about five injuries walking away from that tournament. I had a side strain, groin, glute, neck and a bit of an ankle problem,” the paceman added. “I’ve had four weeks where I’ve been training really hard. I’ve [got] back to the gym, running and bowling.”
The Sunrisers finished fourth in the IPL 6 after starting the comptition with the Sun Network as their new owners, with a new name and a great team spirit.
Ishant Sharma (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
At the top of the order, Dhawan (311 runs at 38.87) made the most of the early overs and 19-year-old Hanuma Vihari (241 runs at 17.21) came of age in pressure cooker encounters.
All-rounders Thisara Perera (233 runs at 23.30 and 19 wickets at 25.15) and Darren Sammy (174 runs at 29 and eight wickets at 21) provided balance. Leg-spinner Amit Mishra topped the IPL 6 bowling chart for his side with 21 wickets at 18.76 and in tandem with Karan Sharma (11 wickets at 20.90) often suffocated the batting side.
Steyn is joined in the pace attacked by Ishant Sharma whose 15 wickets were often expensive.
South African all-rounder JP Duminy, missed IPL 6 with an injury, but provides further strength to the middle order. Parthiv Patel is expected to keep wicket in Sangakkara’s absence.
Sunrisers Hyderabad Squad: Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Parthiv Patel (wk), Cameron White, JP Duminy, Dale Steyn, Darren Sammy, Biplab Samantray, Thisara Perera, Karan Sharma, Hanuma Vihari, Ashish Reddy, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Anand Rajan, Clint McKay
Sep 17 16:00 local Faisalabad Wolves v Otago in Mohali
Sep 17 20:00 local Kandurata Maroons v Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mohali
Sep 18 16:00 local Kandurata Maroons v Otago in Mohali
Sep 18 20:00 local Faisalabad Wolves v Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mohali
Sep 20 16:00 local Faisalabad Wolves v Kandurata Maroons in Mohali
Sep 20 20:00 local Otago v Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mohali
The top two sides qualify for the main CLt20 draw where matches commence on Saturday 21 September.
James Buttler
As the editor of World Cricket Badger he is intent on building the website to give quality coverage of the domestic game around the world.
He is also the presenter of the Cricket Badger Radio Show on Radio Yorkshire every Tuesday evening between 7-9pm UK time.
James was the full-time Media Manager at Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 2007 and 2010.
James is a published author, a writer/video contributor to many cricket publications and a complete cricket badger!
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