We have seen all the other six teams in the action on the first two days. The only two remaining teams are Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals. Both the teams have new captains this season owing to the ball-tampering controversy that saw off both the Australian players. Kane Williamson and Ajinkya Rahane, two very similar characters will take up the charge this season. Here is how the probable XI shapes up:-
Sunrisers Hyderabad
The Deccan Kings have had two phenomenal seasons in the last two years. This year, they did lose out on their core players due to the revamping IPL 2018 Auction but the management did a good job and have gotten good replacements for the missing stars. Just on the last week, they received a jolt in form of David Warner. Alex Hales comes as a replacement but will he be able to fill the void left by David Warner or not remains to be seen.
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The new opening pair this time for Hyderabad will be Hales and Dhawan. Williamson is likely to be the number four. Wriddhiman Saha will be acting as a floater, he can bat up at number three also. Manish Pandey will be responsible for runs in bulk.
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The finishing squad for SRH will most probably be Shakib Al Hasan/Carlos Brathwaite and Deepak Hooda. The bowling department of Hyderabad is as strong as Charminar. They have Bhuvneshwar and Rashid Khan, two of the best in T20 cricket. Two youngsters will get the remaining spots.
Probable XI
Shikhar Dhawan, Alex Hales, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan/Carlos Brathwaite, Deepak Hooda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, Siddharth Kaul, Basil Thampi/Khaleel Ahmed
Rajasthan Royals
After two long years, Rajasthan Royals make their comeback in the IPL. The start has not been a pleasant one for them as they have already lost their captain. Steve Smith was prohibited by the Indian cricket board due to his involvement in the ball tampering incident. This gave RR another chance to pick from unsold players and they selected Heinrich Klaasen who is a very good pick considering his recent form in the series against India.
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The opening combination will be an interesting topic this year for RR. They D’Arcy Short as the back-up with Rahul Tripathi and Anjinkya Rahane as the frontline choices. They can push ahead Heinrich Klaasen or Jos Buttler who otherwise will work to hike the run rate in the middle overs.
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In Ben Stokes, they have a tremendously talented all-rounder. K Gowtham and Shreyas Gopal will be the two spinners if needed. The poor spin bowling will have to be covered up by the two experienced Indian pace bowlers in Dhawal Kulkarni and Jaydev Unadkat.
Probable XI
Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Tripathi/D’Arcy Short, Sanju Samson, Heinrich Klaasen, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, K Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal/Stuart Binny, Dhwal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat.
