IPL 2021, Match 3: SunRisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders (SRH vs KKR) – SRH Predicted XI

The IPL 2016 winners SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) will start their journey in the IPL 2021 on Sunday (11th April) night when they will face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk, Chennai).

SRH are one of the most consistent IPL playoff teams in recent years as they have advanced in all the last five IPL playoffs, including two finals. In the last IPL season, they finished as the third-best team.

IPL 2021, Match 3: SunRisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders (SRH vs KKR) – SRH Predicted XI

David Warner (C)

Australian cricketer David Warner is ready to lead his SRH team once again in the IPL 2021. The left-handed opening batsman was recently in great form in domestic cricket. While he is the most run-scorer for SRH, there is no doubt about his importance in the team.

Jonny Bairstow (wk)

Before the IPL 2021, England cricketer Jonny Bairstow served for his national team on the India tour. Though he started that tour in a very pathetic way in the Test series, where he scored three ducks out of four innings, he played confident knocks in the limited-overs series. But the most important point was that he was in dangerous form in the ODI series where he also won the Player of the Series award despite his team suffered a series defeat. So, the SRH camp is excited to see this similar form from Bairstow in the IPL 2021.

Wriddhiman Saha

In the IPL 2020, Wriddhiman Saha batted incredibly despite getting very few chances. In four matches of that tournament, he scored 214 runs with the help of two half-centuries and more importantly, he had the second-highest strike rate for SRH in that tournament (139.86). But while he is not getting regular matches in the present days, everyone is unsure about his present form.

Kane Williamson

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson recently completed a memorable home season where he was mostly busy scoring runs in every format. Like the other overseas cricketers, Williamson is another important member of this SRH team, and the team management is waiting for his good batting in the IPL 2021.

Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey was the second most run-scorer for SRH in the IPL 2020 who scored 425 runs in 16 games. But after that IPL season, he missed many matches, majorly due to his injury. After recovering from the injury, he played a couple of List A games before joining the SRH team. He is another important name on the team’s batting list.

Abdul Samad

In his last IPL game (against Delhi Capitals in the Qualifier 2 of the IPL 2020), Abdul Samad played a fiery cameo of 33 runs off just 16 balls. While he scored 111 runs in eight innings in the IPL 2020, he had the highest strike rate among the SRH batsmen in that season as he finished with a strike rate of  170.76.

Vijay Shankar

IPL 2020 was not a good event for Vijay Shankar as the all-rounder scored 97 runs in five innings, including one half-century and also took four wickets before he got an injury. Since then, he has played only one game. He can play some effective roles for SRH in the IPL 2021 but he first needs to prove himself again.

Rashid Khan

The Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan is undoubtedly one of the crucial names in the SRH bowling line-up. He was the most wicket-taker for SRH in the IPL 2020 (20 wickets in 16 matches) where he also finished as the second most wicket-taker as a spinner. He can control the opposition batting line-up with his impressive bowling. Moreover, he is also useful as a lower-order batsman.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The right-arm pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar recently returned to the national team after more than a year and he gradually made improvement in the home limited-overs series against England. His bowling was one of the major reasons why India managed to beat England in the T20I and ODI series. So, it is a very good sign for the SRH ahead of the IPL 2021.

Siddharth Kaul

In IPL 2020, Siddarth Kaul played only one match where he got two wickets but he was very expensive as he conceded 64 runs in four overs. But in the recent domestic cricket, he was a very consistent bowler in both T20 and List A formats. During the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2020/21, Kaul also took a hat-trick against the defending champions Karnataka.

Thangarasu Natarajan

The left-arm pacer Thangarasu Natarajan recently made his debut for the Indian team and he has impressed in his initial outings. He was the second most wicket-taker for SRH in the IPL 2020 (16 wickets in 16 matches) and the team management wants a similar performance from him in the IPL 2021.