The Hyderabad based franchise was founded in 2012 after Hyderabad’s former franchise Deccan Chargers was terminated by the IPL. Sunrisers Hyderabad played their first game in the 2013 IPL. However, their first title came in the 2016 season when they beat Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final by 8 runs.
Yesterday was yet another show of why Hyderabad are one of the strongest IPL franchises but they never get the credit they deserve. The question remains, is Sunrisers Hyderabad underrated? Well, by now everyone should know that. They have reached the playoffs in every season since 2016 and have also lifted the trophy in 2016.
As far as 2020 is concerned, Hyderabad did not start the tournament very well. They were at the bottom of the table after the initial games. After getting some points on the board they were struck with another blow as Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hyderabad’s all-time leading wicket-taker was ruled out for the rest of the tournament.
However, back to back triumphs towards the end of the group stages saw them play the Eliminator this season and they beat Bangalore again. They will now face Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 2 who tasted defeat against the Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 1.
The underrated nature of the team is also because of the players they possess. David Warner, Kane Williamson, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, and others are all brilliant cricketers but people barely talk about them, proving how underrated they are. Despite joining the IPL in 2013, Warner and Co. have already won the tournament twice and are on road to capture their third.
Considering the time span they’ve spent in the tournament, Sunrisers Hyderabad have also had several orange cap winners over the years and it has always been the skippers of the side who have led by example. The side has produced the most orange cap holders despite their shorter presence as a franchise. It started with David Warner in the 2015 season, when he was appointed as the Hyderabad captain.
He also finished 2nd in the season before. After finishing 2nd again in 2016, Warner again won the Orange Cap in 2017. 2018 was a tough year for the Australian as he was serving a ban and therefore did not play the IPL. In that season, the New Zealand Kane Williamson was appointed as the captain and then he became that season’s orange cap.
Warner returned to the IPL with a bang as he scored 692 runs in just 12 in the 2019 edition and won the orange cap again. For this season, he is second currently with 546 runs, 124 behind KL Rahul who will not be playing any more games. Let’s see if Warner can do it again.
Apart from all this, the team has always been known as a non-controversial and a strong competing side every season. Their team success, the individual accolades, and the members of the team as a whole make the team very underrated.
featured image credits- cricket.seelatest.com
