4. Opening combinations

SRH had a solid opening partnership last season which was one of the major reason for their success. The ‘David Dhawan’ combination took on the opposing bowlers without holding back and instilled early control in the matches. SRH don’t have David Warner this time though.

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The replacement of the Aussie opener is the English opener, Alex Hales. He has a century in T20 cricket but yet went unsold in the auction. This is the opportunity for Hales to grab the chance and established himself in the IPL.

Rajasthan Royals also have quite a few combinations ready for the opening slot. Ajinkya Rahane is likely to be the one opening pillar. Royals can slot in the Aussie sensation D’Arcy Short at the opening. He scored three 90+ scores in the BBL this year. Another option is Rahul Tripathi who did well while opening for Pune last year.