Once touted as one of the most consistent teams in the tournament’s history, the same franchise has had a forgettable stint for the past two editions. With the root causes lying around the management’s decision-making or lack of robust players, Sunrisers Hyderabad is eager to create an impact and focus on ticking all the boxes to regain its consistent form.

By being the second-richest team in terms of current purse value for the coming mini-auction (Rs. 34 Crore) with six spots vacant and three for overseas players, the team will be a highlight on the 19th of December.

Here is a list of three probable buys by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the coming 2024 IPL Mini Auction. 

• Wanindu Hasaranga

After the absence of Rashid Khan, the 2016 champions have faced a bit of hindrance in their spin attack, and with a strong purse amount, they will likely make a heavy investment in a stable spinner. Wanindu Hasaranga, a star Sri Lankan all-rounder, will also be available in the IPL 2024 auction.

He earned the Purple Cap in the IPL 2022, and if MI can get him, it will be a huge bargain. The 26-year-old is a world-class spinner ranked second in the T20I rankings.

He might be the ideal spinner for SRH, filling the shoes of a top spinner. The squad may also benefit from his special appearance with the bat. 

• Rachin Ravindra

Rachin Ravindra, a rising young star from New Zealand, is one of the game’s top emerging players. The 24-year-old created a name for himself throughout the finished ODI World Cup 2023, assisting the Blackcaps to a semifinal campaign. He has scored 578 runs in 10 matches at an impressive average of 64.22 and a strike rate of 106.44 with three hundreds.

SunRisers Hyderabad has one of the most enormous budgets heading into the IPL 2024 auction, allowing them to secure the services of the Blackcaps player in one of the three foreign spots still available.

Rachin Ravindra has the potential to provide steadiness to the SRH’s top order, which was one of the key reasons they finished last season at the bottom of the league. 

• Lockie Ferguson

Lockie Ferguson, an experienced New Zealand seamer, might also help Sunrisers Hyderabad meet their goal of having a robust international pacer on their side, as they currently have a quality Indian pace attack of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik and T Natarajan.

The New Zealand paceman bowlers quickly and is recognised for his ability to bowl yorkers in the death overs. If SRH successfully acquires Ferguson’s services, the speedster may be a superb fit in the slog overs. 

Gary Stead, New Zealand’s head coach, has issued an update regarding the availability of speedster Lockie Ferguson for the upcoming match in the ICC World Cup 2023. It has been confirmed by Gary Stead that Lockie Ferguson is currently dealing with an Achilles injury.

During the team’s commanding 190-run victory over South Africa at the MCA Stadium in Pune on November 1, Ferguson was unable to secure a spot in the playing XI. This marked the Black Caps’ third consecutive loss in the prestigious tournament.

The 32-year-old sustained the injury during the match against Australia in Dharamsala on October 28. While bowling, the right-arm pacer experienced discomfort in his right Achilles and had to leave the field in the middle of an over. Unfortunately, he did not make a return to the field to resume his bowling duties.

Gary Stead Provides Update on Lockie Ferguson’s Ongoing Achilles Injury

Gary Stead, the head coach of New Zealand, has expressed uncertainty regarding Lockie Ferguson’s availability for the upcoming game against Pakistan. He mentioned that the decision to include Kyle Jamieson in the match will depend on Ferguson’s condition.

“Lockie Ferguson is currently managing an Achilles injury, and his status for the next game against Pakistan is uncertain, perhaps even less than 50-50. We will evaluate his condition and decide whether Kyle Jamieson will be in the playing XI for the upcoming match,” stated Gary Stead.

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The New Zealand team has been grappling with a series of injuries in the ongoing World Cup 2023. Notable players like Kane Williamson, Mark Chapman, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, and James Neesham are currently nursing injuries. In the last match, Tim Southee made a comeback to the team.

Despite a strong start in the tournament with four consecutive victories, New Zealand faced back-to-back defeats against India, Australia, and South Africa. To secure a spot in the semifinals, they must win at least one of their remaining two matches.

Upcoming Fixtures:

• November 4 – New Zealand vs Pakistan, Bengaluru, 10.30 am IST
• November 9 – New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, Bengaluru, 2.00 pm IST

New Zealand World Cup Squad:

Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c & wk), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Mark Chapman, Kane Williamson

For a decade, New Zealand were carried by Tim Southee and Trent Boult with the ball. Now, Trent Boult is not always available for the national side and Tim Southee’s workload is now starting to be looked after, following his appointment as Test Captain. With the senior duo missing, Lockie Ferguson has taken it upon himself to guide the group of pacers.

While he has not admitted that he is the attack leader, in the India tour, he was often found at mid-off and mid-on, frequently talking to the bowlers. With a young bowling group around him, Lockie Ferguson found himself as the most experienced in the pack. His bowling style additionally makes him stand out. Being the fastest in the group, and being a bowler who can control his pace, Lockie Ferguson automatically becomes a trump card with the ball.

Knowing his importance as the trump card of the line-up, Lockie Ferguson was ready to help the others. He is using his experience well, and this time around he got a different role too. With nobody to take the new-ball, Lockie Ferguson stepped up and bowled some nice spells against Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, who were getting India off to solid starts in the ODIs.

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His new ball efforts highlighted his ability as a he showed development with the ball. From being a bowler who is often used to pick up wickets in the middle overs and rattle batters in the death, Lockie Ferguson found some encouraging movement and opened another option for New Zealand. With him taking the new-ball, the others were a lot more relaxed, and consequently bowled better. Ben Lister, the one sharing the new-ball with him came out of the shadows and bowled some encouraging spells himself.

He has a decent domestic record, and now with some confidence the young pacer, who can touch the 140s. is likely to make some more strides. Tickner too, the first change bowler stood out. In all likelihood, Tickner was lucky to be here for the tour, Had Southee been available, Tickner may not have made the side. He did though, and the T20s in particular went very well for him with some encouraging moments with the ball.

Ferguson, who has some leadership experience knew what was expected of him with Williamson and Southee absent. With the World Cup in India later this year an opportunity to play in the same place will be very important as it allows Ferguson and the others to get an understanding of the conditions.

Kolkata Knight Riders have secured New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson and Afghanistan wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz via trades from IPL champions Gujarat Titans ahead of the auction for the 2023 season, slated for December 23 in Kochi. It is an all-cash trade, the details of which have not been disclosed by the IPL or the franchises. Ferguson’s addition strengthens KKR’s pace stocks that boast of Australia’s Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins. Fellow New Zealander Tim Southee and India’s Umesh Yadav and Shivam Mavi. Ferguson’s signing marks his return to the set-up he was part of between 2019 and 2021. He has also represented Rising Pune Supergiant.

Ferguson, who has signed for INR 10 crore (five times his base price) at the February auction this year, played a key role for the Titans in their inaugural season. He picked up 12 wickets in 13 games at an economy of 8.95 and a best of 4 for 27. He also bowled the fastest ball of the season, clocked at 157.3kph, to Jos Buttler in the final. As he picked up seven wickets in five games during New Zealand’s T20 World Cup campaign in Australia. Where they lost in the semi-finals to Pakistan.

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New home for Gurbaz and Ferguson, as KKR trades them from GT

The addition of Afghanistan’s Gurbaz gives KKR more wicketkeeping options. It’s an area they struggled with in the IPL 2022, with neither of Sam Billings, Sheldon Jackson and B Indrajith managing to nail their positions in the XI. Gurbaz, who had listed himself at a base price of INR 50 lakh, went unsold initially before being signed by Titans as a replacement for England’s Jason Roy. Gurbaz spent the entire 2022 season on the bench with the Titans preferring the experience of Matthew Wade and Wriddhiman Saha at different times.

Gurbaz has already featured in overseas leagues such as the PSL, CPL, BPL, LPL and Abu Dhabi T10 League. In 99 T20s overall, he has struck at 152.48, while accruing 2481 runs with 16 half-centuries and a century. “Both players leave behind unforgettable memories,” Vikram Solanki, Titans’ team director, said. “Lockie’s four-wicket haul against Delhi Capitals is a performance we will always remember. While Gurbaz did not play a game, his promise and talent was evident right through.”

Well, T20 cricket, at the moment is ruling our international fixtures. The plethora of 20-over games happening all around has made the format more budding. Even the cricketers whether contracted or a freelancer are now expected to thrive the most in the shortest format.

However, for certain individuals, the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia will be of utmost importance. Despite these cricketers being the elite names in the T20s, they surprisingly will play their debut World T20 in 2022. Sadly, one or two players from the list were previously part of the 2021 World T20 but their fitness issues got them discarded.

Therefore in this list, let’s check out these five players who’ll debut themselves in the forthcoming ICC T20 event.

1. Yuzvendra Chahal

Certainly, in recent times, Yuzi Chahal has again brought back himself as India’s premier white-ball spinner. Since his snub in the last World T20, the bowler has taken his gameplay onto another level. In IPL 2022, the 32-year-old topped all wicket-taking charts by picking 27 wickets in 17 games. In general, even in recent T20Is, the spinner has phenomenally prospered under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy.

However, his trip to the T20 World Cup in Australia will be a special one. The cricketer will play his debut World T20 despite playing the shortest format since June 2016. Unfortunately in the 2021 T20 World Cup, Yuzi was axed and replaced by Rahul Chahar.

Nevertheless, during India’s 2022 WC squad selection, this bowler will be one of the first spinners to be penned. Hopefully, Yuzi will also exhibit his breakthrough performances even in the 2022 ICC event.

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2. Lockie Ferguson

In the last T20 World Cup, NZ was the first team to announce its squad. More importantly, the Kiwis in the squad also had Lockie Ferguson’s express pace. However, the speedster very bitterly had to leave the tournament because of a calf injury.

Sadly, during NZ’s opening game against Pakistan, Ferguson experienced tightness in his right calf. However, a bit later the scans then revealed that the bowler had a grade two tear. Agonizingly, just an hour before the opening game, the 31-year-old was entirely ruled out of the tournament.

That’s why like Yuzi Chahal even this pacer will play his debut World T20 later in Australia. In fact, much like the spinner, even Lockie is in red-hot form when it comes to T20 performances. Hopefully, the cricketer will also sustain his full fitness to appear in the ICC event.

3. Tim David

At present, Tim David is a superstar batter in T20 cricket. Across the globe, the batter has been belting all kinds of bowling attacks. Even in IPL 2022, David exhibited one of the best strike rates who had scored more than 100 runs. More importantly, the 26-year-old is also almost certain for representing Australia in the future.

In fact, one of the selectors (George Bailey) has publicly confirmed that David is on the selection radar for the 2022 World T20. Also as the cricketer had previously represented Singapore national team, his eligibility to represent Australia is legal. However, in the defending champion’s frontline squad, there isn’t much room for this freelancer to dwell.

Overall, David’s T20I Australia call-up is much anticipated to happen when the Aussies tour India. Because a few of the senior players might receive rests, David very likely will get chances to prove.

Comprehensively, even the Aussie legend Ricky Ponting has vouched for this behemoth’s inclusion in the World T20. All in all, certainly T20 cricket’s current favorite freelancer might play his debut T20 World Cup in 2022.

4. Sam Curran

Even Sam Curran had missed the 2021 World T20 because of an injury. This all-rounder before the 2021 mega event was representing CSK in IPL 2021’s second half. Unfortunately, during Chennai’s game against RR, Curran injured his back that later was revealed as a stress fracture. Initially, the southpaw was only ruled out of the T20 World Cup but later even missed England’s entire winter tours.

Sadly, the 24-year-old also opted himself out of the IPL 2022 mega auction. It was just recently that Sam made his full comeback in the first half of English summer. That’s why the upcoming ICC event in Australia will be this Englishman’s debut T20 WC.

Also, with regards to his selection, the cricketer looks like an established all-rounder that will bag the mega event’s ticket. Optimistically, Sam is also expected to emerge as a match-winner for England to triumph.

5. Rovman Powell

Before this year, Rovman Powell had endured a topsy-turvy start to his international career. The batter was almost certain to play in the 2019 World Cup but eventually was dropped. Fortunately in 2022, as many WI’s veteran players have retired, Powell is now an established name in T20Is. More importantly, the 29-year-old is also perceived to be the future white-ball leader.

However, in the shortest format, Powell was already a well-versed name in different T20 leagues. His reputation of being one of the fiercest strikers of the ball is also now witnessed in international cricket. In general, for WI, Powell will be an X-factor player later this year in Australia.

Overall, despite making his T20I debut way back in 2017, Powell will play his first ever T20 World Cup. Conceivably, the batting-friendly pitches in Australia will also encourage the hitter to exhibit his best gameplay.