Kumar Sangakkara, skipper of Sunrisers Hyderabad, said that the current composition of the team differed from the Deccan Chargers outfit that finished seventh out of eight teams last season.
“We have a few additions in the team. But unfortunately, Shikhar Dhawan, who is an important player, has suffered a fracture and he will be out for a few weeks. There are new faces coming in as well. I’m excited for the new franchise. Under the old franchise we didn’t do as well as we could have. Our fielding is something we are trying to address this year,’’ he said.
If Dhawan will be missed for few matches this time, Sangakkara said the team missed Ishant Sharma last year because of injuries. But with Ishant and Dale Steyn, Sunrisers have the best new ball attack. “We missed Ishant last year, a huge amount. Dale Steyn spearheading our new bowling attack is going to be crucial. Ishant showed in the recent series against Australia that even on flat wickets, he has the knack of bowling tight spells and picking up wickets. Steyn has been going great guns over the last four years. We are looking forward to make an impact with them.’’
Coach Tom Moody was hopeful that Sunrisers will spring a few surprise heroes this year. “It is a pleasure to work with such class here (Cameron White, Ishant, Sangakkara). And, add to this we have some young exciting talent. With Shikhar injured, it is a huge opportunity for someone else to stand up to the occasion. IPL has always produced surprise heroes and I am hopeful of a couple of them being from Sunrisers this time around,” he signed off.