Ishank Jaggi

Team profile: Sunrisers Hyderabad face an uphill battle

New Delhi: The Hyderabad-based franchise, previously known as Deccan Chargers, has had a topsy-turvy five years in the IPL - from being the bottom dwellers in the first season to going on to win the very next year and then having two very poor years, to now starting IPL 6 with a clean slate and a new name. Deccan has made way for Sunrisers Hyderabad and fittingly, they will need to rise big time to make an impact this edition. The new owners, Sun Group, retained 20 players from last season but let go off some important players, namely last auction's highest gainer Daniel Christian and bright domestic talent Ishank Jaggi from Jharkhand.

The team, once comprised of true batting heavyweights like Adam Gilchrist, Shahid Afridi, Andrew Symonds and Rohit Sharma, now looks drastically different and it is their bowling which looks the strongest. Spearheaded by the South African Dale Steyn with Ishant Sharma, the IPL's second-highest wicket-taker Amit Mishra for company and Rusty Theron and Clint McKay in the mix, Sunrisers will be hoping their bowlers are in top form throughout IPL 6.

Injuries to Shikhar Dhawan and JP Duminy come as a big blow for the franchise, but the inclusion of young South African opener Quinton de Kock and allrounders Thisara Perera and Darren Sammy will boost the team. The other opener, Parthiv Patel, reinvented himself as an attacking player last year and reaped rewards for his approach and this year too, if he

12:07 PM, Mar 31, 2013