Sunrisers Hyderabad developed a strong core in IPL 2024. While they would have liked to retain more players, the retention rules will not allow them. Hence, they need to take some bold decisions if they are to make the best utilization of the rules. On that note, here, we take a look at the list of three bold retention calls SRH could take before IPL 2025.
1) Release Pat Cummins
While he captained the side well, as a player, Pat was very ordinary. In fact, he gave away the most runs in IPL 2024. Considering he will prioritize Australian cricket, you cannot expect Pat to be available for every edition of the IPL.
Most importantly, in the Mega Auction, he may not go further than INR 11 or INR 12 Cr. Hence, it could be a risk to retain him. Rather, the squad could focus on Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen, who could become expensive to buy again.
2) Retain Nitish Kumar Reddy
Retaining Nitish Kumar Reddy is one of the bold retention calls SRH could take before IPL 2025. He is now a capped cricketer. SRH will have to give him a minimum of INR 11 Cr to retain his services.
Considering the all-round potential he has, Nitish will surely get more than that in the auctions. He is a homegrown talent and SRH has not had a lot to boast in this regard in the recent years. Hence, they should look to retain Nitish, despite the sample size of his performances being small.
3) Retain Mayank Markhande as uncapped player
SRH will have to retain an uncapped cricketer if they have to make use of the full six retentions. At the moment, Abdul Samad and Mayank Markhande seem to be the only realistic choices.
Mayank Markhande has played for India and has quite a lot of experience. It is hard to get a decent Indian leg-spinner at the auctions. Hence, reserving INR 4 Cr for the Punjab spinner may not be a bad idea. This way, the team can focus on the other areas in the auctions.
