IPL 2017: Sunrisers Hyderabad's new recruits bolster title defense

NEW DELHI: Defending champion Sunrisers Hyderabad made a few key purchases at the 2017 IPL player auction in Bangalore this February, having released Eoin Morgan, Trent Boult, Karn Sharma, Ashish Reddy, T Suman and Aditya Tare. Here's a look at the new faces in the squad, and what they bring to the table.
RASHID KHAN (Rs 4 crore)
From the six-member Associates pool, Mohammad Nabi became the first cricketer from Afghanistan to join the IPL, purchased by Hyderabad for his base price of Rs 30 lakh, but it was his team-mate Rashid Khan who fetched a bid of Rs 4 crore.During last year's World Twenty20 held in India, Rashid was second in the overall wickets tally with 11, and this year has taken 41 wickets in 17 ODIs and T20Is combined. In January, during the Desert T20 Challenge which Afghanistan won, Rashid took six wickets in four matches with a best of 2/12 versus UAE, and then a further 10 against Zimbabwe as Afghanistan won an ODI series 3-2. Most recently against Ireland at Afghanistan's adopted home in Greater Noida, the 18-year-old legspinner proved a major irritant for Ireland with 24 wickets from three T20Is and five ODIs. Afghanistan swept the T20Is 3-0, with Rashid scalping an incredible 5/3 in the second match, and the ODIs 3-2. During the second ODI, which Afghanistan won by 34 runs, Rashid claimed the best figures by an Afghanistan bowler in the format - 6/43. This was followed by eight wickets against Ireland in an innings-and-72-run win in Greater Noida during the ICC Intercontinental Cup.
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MOHAMMAD NABI (Rs 30 lakh)
Nabi, the veteran Afghanistan allrounder, is a more than useful player in T20 cricket. His batting, packing plenty of punch, has bailed out his country and various franchises on numerous occasions and his offspin has proved devastating. During last year's ICC World T20, Nabi was the leading wicket-taker with 12 scalps and in the Desert T20 Challenge, he was Man of the Tournament for his all-round performances. Afghanistan's most successful ODI and T20I bowler will enter his first IPL season with the confidence of 22 wickets and 378 runs from 17 limited-overs games this year, with personal bests of 4/10 and 89 off 30 balls, both versus Ireland.
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MOHAMMAD SIRAJ (Rs 2.6 crore)
The 22-year-old Hyderabad fast bowler went to his home franchise, on the back of a fine Ranji Trophy (he was the third-highest wicket-taker with 41 at 18.92 apiece) and Inter-State T20 Tournament (nine wickets at 13.88, economy 6.57). From a base price of 20 lakh, Siraj finished as Sunrisers' second most expensive purchase after the Afghanistan legspinner Rashid Khan. With the franchise also acquiring England's Chris Jordan and Australian Ben Laughlin, young Siraj adds further depth to a fast-bowling pool already comprising Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, Ashish Nehra, Abhimanyu Singh, Mustafizur Rahman and Barinder Sran.
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CHRIS JORDAN (Rs 50 lakh)
Released by Royal Challengers Bangalore during the trading window, the England fast bowler went to SRH for his base price - which is a steal deal. Jordan brings to SRH the experience of 8 Tests, 31 ODIs and 22 T20Is, apart from vast experience in county and franchise cricket, having played for T20 leagues in England, Australia, India and the West Indies. A robust pace bowler and excellent fielder, most strikingly in the arc between point and the slips, the 28-year-old is a canny death-overs specialist whose variety has often flummoxed opposing batsmen. During England's run to the final of last year's World T20, Jordan took six wickets in six matches.
Recently, he was one of a few international cricketers who flew to Lahore for the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where his franchise Peshawar Zalmi were crowned winners by 58 runs over Quetta Gladiators. Jordan took 8 wickets in six PSL games, and most recently nine in five matches of the Hong Kong Twenty20 Blitz. Given the uncertainty over Mustafizur Rahman's participation this season on account of an injury, Jordan could be a big player for Sunrisers.
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BEN LAUGHLIN (Rs 30 lakh)
One-time Australia pace bowler Laughlin, 34, has the experience of 97 T20 matches from which a tally of 121 wickets at a strike-rate of 16.5 underlines his credentials. Laughlin received the last of his eight international caps in 2013, but since then
The Victorian has plied his trade in leagues in Australia, the West Indies, New Zealand and India (he played for Chennai Super Kings earlier). In 2013, he helped Northern Knights to the HRV Cup title with 10 wickets from four matches at an average of 10.10 and an economy rate of 6.31. In the 2016-17 Big Bash League, Laughlin took nine wickets in seven matches for Adelaide Strikers.
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PRAVIN TAMBE (Rs 10 lakh)
Life, Pravin Tambe could well attest to, really does begin after 40. In 2013, the unheralded legspinner from Mumbai proved an inspired selection by Rajasthan Royals when he finished the Champions League Twenty20 as the leading wicket-taker with 12 scalps in five games at an average of 6.50, an achievement that led to a Ranji Trophy cap for Mumbai soon after - his first first-class match ever.
During the 2014 IPL, aged 42, Tambe achieved the first hat-trick of the season against Kolkata Knight Riders when he dismissed Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan and Ryan ten Doeschate off successive deliveries. Though the aura has faded since, Tambe, now 45, has been a part of Mumbai's T20 and List A plans during the ongoing domestic season. It remains to be seen how many opportunities he gets for his new IPL franchise, but rest assured with Tambe, he will give it his best and approach each delivery bowled with the energy of a player years younger than he actually is.
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EKLAYVA DWIVEDI (Rs 75 lakh)
A wicketkeeper-batsman who plays for Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket, Eklayva Dwivedi found himself with an IPL contract worth Rs 1 crore in 2016 after he finished the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as his team's leading run-getter. Having earlier played a few matches for the defunct Pune Warriors in 2012, Dwivedi found a new IPL home with Gujarat Lions but only got four games last season, in which he managed 24 runs. Offloaded during the trading window, he was purchased by SRH with an eye on backup for Naman Ojha. In 43 career T20 games, the 28-year-old has scored 885 runs at a strike-rate of 127.70 and has claimed 32 dismissals.
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TANMAY AGARWAL (Rs 10 lakh)
Hyderabad-born Tanmay Agarwal, 21, went into his first IPL auction on the back of being the leading run-getter in the Inter-State T20s with 250 at an average of 50 and a strike-rate of 162.33. In 22 career T20 games, he has scored 555 runs 25.22 with two fifties. Agarwal could slot in at No 3 in SRH's batting lineup, and get plenty of opportunities should he click.
(TOI Photo)