Not Daryl Mitchell Or Lockie Ferguson! Irfan Pathan Picks New Zealand Player SRH Would Look To Acquire

Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan explained why Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) needs to go big time after Rachin Ravindra in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction. He believes that the team needs a backup opener and for that Kiwi star is a perfect candidate. 

Rachin Ravindra will be one of the players who will be on the radar of almost every team heading into the IPL 2023 auction. With the kind of show that he displayed in the ICC World Cup 2023, it won’t be a surprise if he fetches a big amount of money in the auction, set to take place on 19th December in Dubai. 

One of the teams that will be keeping a keen eye on him would be Sunrisers Hyderabad. The franchise released some key players and needs some good players so that they bring balance to the team going into the IPL 2024. 

Sunrisers Hyderabad have a remaining purse of ₹34 crore. They have six vacant spaces including three overseas cricketers. With the kind of balance, Rachin Ravindra brings, it’ll be no surprise if the batter ends up playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the next edition of the league.

Irfan Pathan while previewing the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad highlighted the things the team is lacking ahead of the auction. Speaking to Star Sports, he explained: 

“Ideally, they would like to have a proper spinner who is a wicket-taker. They had Adil Rashid, they don’t have his services now. Obviously, they have Mayank Markande but they need a bit more than that. 

“If they have two all-rounders going really well as far as batting is concerned in Washington Sundar and Marco Jansen, they can actually play with the playing XI. A backup opener is very, very crucial for them and that is why they need to go after Rachin Ravindra big time.” 

IPL 2024: Sanjay Manjrekar Says SRH Need Backups For Rahul Tripathi And Abhishek Sharma 

Sanjay Manjrekar, who was also present in the discussion, gave his verdict on SRH’s strategy. He wasn’t bothered about their bowling but mentioned that they need backups for Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi. He explained: 

“I am not too worried about the bowling because they have got enough with pace. T Natarajan, Umran Malik and Marco Jansen are there. There is enough spin with Mayank Markande and they have got Shahbaz Ahmed also now as an option. 

“What I would like to do, because they finished right at the bottom in the last season, is find people just in case Abhishek Sharma doesn’t deliver at the top or Rahul Tripathi doesn’t have a great IPL. You have got to have backups that will change their fortunes.” 

It remains to be seen what strategy will SRH opt for going into the auction. They haven’t had great outings in the last few seasons and would be hoping to turn things around this time.