SunRisers Hyderabad are currently the equivalent of a ship in dodgy weather. Inexperienced and somewhat rudderless, having changed four captains and four coaches in their last four years.

Once, one of the most consistent teams in the tournament known for their unique style at the auction and on the field, SunRisers have now fallen into a perennial trap of chop and change. The Hyderabad-based side moved on from the captain-coach duo of Aiden Markram and Brian Lara after a terrible 2023 season, which came after a horror run in 2022. SRH have not stuck to a captain and coaching duo for more than one season since the sacking of the prolific David Warner and Trevor Bayliss. Ahead of the 2024 season, the last one before the mega auction, SRH bought Pat Cummins for a franchise record of Rs 20.50 crore and handed him the captaincy. The logic behind the move was never made clear, but one can assume that Cummins was made captain for his sensational trophy-laden run with Australia in the 2023 season of international cricket. Cummins won the 2023 ICC Test Championship and the ODI World Cup, both beating the Indian side. But like we discussed in the latest episode of Sledging Room Podcast, Cummins's success did not come in the T20 format of the game. HOW DID SRH FARE IN AUCTION? SunRisers Hyderabad easily had one of the best auctions amongst the 10 teams in the Indian Premier League. Having finished last in the 2023 season, SRH had released stars like Harry Brook and Adil Rashid to free up a decent chunk of money. The team went hammer and tongs for World Cup-winning Australian stars Travis Head and Pat Cummins and even got Wanindu Hasaranga for a bargain price of Rs 1.50 crore. SRH bowling coach was elated especially with the buy of Travis Head, who he thought would be one of the biggest buys of the 2024 season. SRH Buys in IPL Auction 2024 Travis Head (Rs. 6.80 crore), Wanindu Hasaranga (Rs. 1.50 crore), Pat Cummins (Rs. 20.50 crore), Jaydev Unadkat (Rs. 1.60 crore), Akash Singh (Rs. 20 lakh), Jhathavedh Subramanyan (Rs. 20 lakh). One could see from the auction that SRH had managed to tick off their focused points in the three established foreign players and they were not interested in putting money on any overseas players who were unproven in the Indian conditions. SRH IPL 2024 SQUAD Batters: Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram (SA), Rahul Tripathi, Mayank Agarwal, Travis Head (AUS), Anmolpreet Singh. All-rounders: Washington Sundar, Abhishek Sharma, Shahbaz Ahmed, Sanvir Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy. Wicketkeepers: Glenn Phillips (NZ), Upendra Singh Yadav, Heinrich Klaasen (SA). Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Marco Jansen (SA), Pat Cummins (AUS), T. Natarajan, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik, Wanindu Hasaranga (SL), Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh, Fazalhaq Farooqi (AFG), Jhathavedh Subramanyan. FITTING THE JIGSAW PUZZLE One of the biggest problems for SRH will be trying to make an XI from what seems to be an overseas-players-heavy squad. SRH barely have any established Indian T20I players in their team and that could turn out to be a problem. Two of SRH's best Indian T20I players are - the prodigiously talented Washington Sundar - who has had multiple injury concerns in the last two years - and the veteran war horse - Bhuvneshwar Kumar - who last played for India in November 2022. THE CAPTAINCY CALL A major issue this season will stem from the fact that SRH have handed captaincy to a fast bowler, who has not set the stage on fire in the T20 format. Pat Cummins' IPL economy of 8.54 is much higher than his economy in the T20s - 7.99 and of course T20Is - 7.43. Cummins, a world-class Test and ODI bowler, needs to step up and deliver with the ball as he is expected to play all their matches in the new season. Cummins will, of course, have the supporting cast of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan and Umran Malik, but the Australia ODI captain will be expected to be the leader of the attack, and for that to happen, Cummins will have to dig up a level of performance that he just has not shown yet in the tournament. THE OVERSEAS SIGNINGS SRH have a strong contingent of overseas players this season. Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen, Pat Cummins, Marco Jansen, Wanindu Hasaranga, Aiden Markram, Glenn Phillips and Fazalhaq Farooqi have the capabilities of making it to the playing XIs of most T20 teams out there in the world. SRH will find it difficult to balance their side, given their playing XI will inadvertently be based around Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen and Pat Cummins - who are surely fixed in the playing XI in the 2024 season. It would be an absolute travesty if Aiden Markram, a two-time SA20-winning captain for the SunRisers Eastern Cape, and Marco Jansen, one of the promising talents in world cricket, miss out on regular opportunities in the new season. The same can be said about Glenn Phillips as well. WHAT DO SRH LACK? As highlighted earlier, SRH's biggest frustrations will come from the inexperienced Indian contingent. The likes of Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad and Washington Sundar have been in the franchise for a while now but have not been able to set the stage on fire. Abhishek and Samad are 22, Washington is 24 and it is high time that they repay the faith shown by the franchise. A lot of faith will also be put on Bengal's Shahbaz Ahmed who was traded into the franchise from Royal Challengers Bangalore.

SEASON OF PROMISE?

A ship in the middle of a storm cannot expect to race away to its destination. Something similar can be said about SunRisers Hyderabad once again, who have this time based their team around Pat Cummins, Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen Two of these three players were not even in the franchise in the 2023 season. SRH's only hope this season is that their young Indian contingent turns up and provides support to the top four foreigners. A lot will also be expected of the new coach Daniel Vettori, who has vast experience in IPL, both as a coach and a player and also has worked with Cummins and Head. If an educated guess were to be made, SRH need to punch above their weight to reach the playoffs in the IPL 2024 season. One can surely expect SRH to stitch up some good performances and finish in the top half of the table this season.

IPL 2024: SRH COACHING STAFF

Daniel Vettori (head coach), Simon Helmot (assistant coach), James Franklin (fast bowling coach), Hemang Badani (batting coach), Muttiah Muralidaran (spin bowling and strategic coach), Ryan Cook (fielding coach).

SRH PROBABLE PLAYING XI

Option 1: Travis Head, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen, Washington Sundar, Pat Cummins, Marco Jansen/Wanindu Hasaranga, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik/Shahbaz Ahmed, T Natarajan. Option 2: Abhishek Sharma/Mayank Agarwal, Travis Head, Rahul Tripathi, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Wanindu Hasaranga/Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed/Abdul Samad, Pat Cummins (c), T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik. IPL 2024: Delhi Capitals rope in Jake Fraser-McGurk as injury replacement