Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) finished 10th, which is last, in the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League, with the fewest wins in the league phase of the tournament. From their captain Aiden Markram, joining the team well after the start of the tournament, to a controversial ‘mismanagement’ of star players, SRH did not have the best of seasons on and off the field.
IPL 2023 Record
Played: 14; Won: 4; Lost: 10; Standing: 10th
High Point of the Season
After losing the first two games of the season, SRH managed to get back-to-back wins over Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders and looked to have turned a corner with South African Markram settling into the role of captain despite missing the opening game of the season. SRH went on to win only two games more with only Heinrich Klaasen and Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s exploits with the bat and ball respectively being the only shining lights in a gloomy season.
Low Point of the Season
Star Indian pacer Umran Malik had a forgettable season, picking up just 5 wickets from 8 games at an average of 43.40, an economy of 10.85 and a strike rate of 24.00. In fact, in their second-last game of the season, Malik was not only missing from the playing XI but Markram wasn’t even able to give an answer why which reflected how their season went.
Captaincy Verdict
Markram personally too did not have the best of seasons, scoring just 248 runs at a strike rate of 125.89 and a highest score of 50. That insecurity and confusion bled over to his captaincy, seemingly not having control over his own team and player selections. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that he led the same Sunrisers Eastern Cape, a sister franchise of SRH, to a title win a couple of months ago back home in the SA20.
Most Valuable Player
Klaasen was the main batter for SRH, scoring a hundred and accumulating 448 runs from 12 matches at an average of 49.78 and a strike rate of 177.08. The fact that he did so mostly batting in the middle order adds to his reputation and reveals SRH’s top-orde struggles. He also dealt with the spinners quite impressively.
Major Disappointment
Harry Brook came into the IPL 2023 on the back of strong batting performances in the Pakistan Super League as well as impressive international form. In his debut season of the IPL though he managed only 190 runs from 11 games, including an unbeaten 100 against Kolkata Knight Riders, at an average of 21.11 and a strike rate of 123.38. He started the tournament in the middle-order and was subsequently moved up to open with the rest of the team being rejigged to accommodate him. He was dropped after a series of failures before returning for the final few games.
Season Verdict
Sunrisers Hyderabad looked like a bunch of players trying to play together, rather than a team working together for a common goal. Several of their players seemed to have undefined roles which added to their troubles. SRH’s head coach Brian Lara, assistant coach Simon Helmot, spin-bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan, fast-bowling coach Dale Steyn and fielding coach Hemang Badani will also have to share the blame for the dreadful season.
Top Stats
- Most Runs: Heinrich Klaasen (448 from 11 innings)
- Most Wickets: Bhuvneshwar Kumar (16 from 14 innings)
- Highest Individual Score: Heinrich Klaasen (104 runs from 51 balls vs Royal Challengers Bangalore)
- Best Bowling Figures: Bhuvneshwar Kumar (5/30 vs Gujarat Titans)
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