Defending champions Sunrisers seek middle-order lift

Likely first-choice XI

David Warner (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha (wk), Vijay Shankar, Rashid Khan, Mustafizur Rahman, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra

Reserves

Batsmen - Kane Williamson, Eklavya Dwivedi, Ricky Bhui, Tanmay Agarwal
Bowlers - Ben Laughlin, Pravin Tambe, Mohammed Siraj, Abhimanyu Mithun, Siddarth Kaul, Barinder Sran
Allrounders - Ben Cutting, Chris Jordan, Mohammad Nabi, Bipul Sharma

Strengths

Of the 88 wickets they took in 2016, 75 were shared across their regular choice of five strike bowlers. Sunrisers also had the best economy rates in the Powerplays and slog overs - 6.83 in the former, 8.73 in the latter. This is a straightforward indicator of what won them the title last year. It's not surprising then that they have made sure to keep that area strong.

The core of the pace attack is made up of Mustafizur Rahman - who should be a shoo in when he's available - Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ashish Nehra. They will be backed up by the newly-acquired Chris Jordan, Ben Laughlin, Barinder Sran and Mohammed Siraj. Moises Henriques and Ben Cutting give them depth and bring to the fore slower variations along with their seam-ups.

While they've put together a formidable pace bowling group, they haven't ignored their spin stocks. Their two frontline spinners last season - Bipul Sharma and Karn Sharma - took a combined three wickets and went at 8.64 and 10.46 respectively. This season, they've added the experienced Pravin Tambe and Afghanistan's pair of Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, who have overall economy rates of 7.04, 6.98 and 5.99, respectively, in this format.

This makes Sunrisers, arguably, the strongest bowling attack in the IPL. Mustafizur and Rashid, in particular, will make them a difficult side to bat against, particularly in the small window when they'll both be available together.

Weaknesses

In contrast to the bowling, Sunrisers' batting last year was a monopoly at the top. Just over 50% of the runs they scored came from David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan. This meant a dependency on Warner at the top, and on Mustafizur at the end. That is a potential weakness, given Warner's shaky month in the lead-up to the IPL, and Mustafizur's limited availability.

Those dependencies also put pressure on a fragile middle order which will consist of Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha, and possibly Vijay Shankar, coming in after Yuvraj Singh at No. 4. The back-up is not particularly menacing to think about either for opposition - Kane Williamson, Ricky Bhui and Tanmay Agarwal.

Where they finished in 2016, and what's different this year?

Sunrisers won their maiden title last year, beating Royal Challengers in the finals.

From that squad, they have released Eoin Morgan and Trent Boult, alongside four others. The telling difference this year is the signing of three spinners, two of them Associate players, Rashid and Nabi. While stereotypes may dictate that these players will be backup options, the structure of the team this year allows the possibility of them being frontline options.

What have their players been up to?

• David Warner is coming off a Test series against India in which he made only one fifty in eight innings. Warner also came under fire for what many deemed a lack of ability outside home conditions. This is a different format, and these are conditions he scored 848 runs in last season, but Warner might be a different sort of man confidence-wise.
• Rashid Khan has been playing in India since the start of March - three T20Is, five ODIs and a four-day game for Afghanistan against Ireland. In this period, he has taken 33 wickets in nine innings across formats.
• Yuvraj Singh turned up for North Zone in four domestic T20s, and four Punjab in four domestic 50-over matches. His best return with the bat was 66 against Railways in a 50-over game. It was his only half-century in those eight matches,
• Ben Cutting and Moises Henriques faced off in the second semi-final of the Big Bash earlier this year. It involved Henriques scoring 64 in a chase, Cutting pulling things back and conceding five runs off the last over when six were required, and a super-over in which Henriques smashed 18 off his bowling. They've had their share of pressure situations as they head into this season.

Overseas-player availability

Mustafizur will be available from April 8, for about a month, after which he will head out on May 7 to play for Bangladesh in a tri-series involving New Zealand and Ireland. Williamson, the New Zealand captain, is also expected to leave then.

Home and away record in 2016

Sunrisers won four out of seven matches at home at Uppal in Hyderabad. They won seven out of ten away, of which they had a 100% record in the two matches played closer to home in Vizag.

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