IPL 2021 Retentions | Talking Points from SRH’s retentions and releases ft. curious case of Sid Kaul, Fabian Allen's sudden drop in stocks

01/25/2021

With Tom Moody back at the helm of the affairs, there is a clear Moody touch to the way Sunrisers Hyderabad have approached their retention and releases this year. They have cut the unwanted wood from the roster, but will that help? We’ll soon know.

It is sagacious to state that Hyderabad’s approach this season was driven by pragmatism and understanding of the best-case scenario. It is a mini-auction and there wouldn’t be a lot of fresh faces on offer, thus they didn’t take the bait. From the exterior, this seems like a fair approach but how much of that’d come back to haunt them later is an important point to ponder on.

Who have SRH retained?

Kane Williamson, David Warner, Manish Pandey, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, T Natarajan, Abhishek Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mitchell Marsh, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Jonny Bairstow, Wriddhiman Saha, Shreevats Goswami, Basil Thampi, Jason Holder.

Who have SRH released?

Billy Stanlake, Fabian Allen, Sanjay Yadav, B Sandeep, and Yarra Prithvi Raj

What is their remaining purse?

INR 10.75 crore

How many slots do they have available?

5 (2 overseas)

Talking Points

The dichotomy of Fabian Allen

In the pre-pandemic world, Fabian Allen posed a figure of calm. He was doing all the right things and having been picked for Sunrisers Hyderabad, his stock was on an upward trajectory. Thus one would think - how much a year can change your luck? Now Fabian Allen has been released from the SRH squad, with the future looking as unpredictable as it has ever been, and you really can’t fault the tragic fate of luck. He decided to pull out of the CPL, didn’t get a game for SRH and subsequently failed to inspire any confidence in the New Zealand series in November. Allen has that all-round knack which makes him a player with cutting-edge in the shortest format and Sunrisers Hyderabad will never know what they have missed out on. But given the cost-effectiveness of the Caribbean star, who might walk into any playing XI in the IPL, it should’ve been the reason they latched onto him for another year. Any other teams looking for an all-round, who can bowl left-arm spin, you know who to call!

What role does Kaul serve anymore?

Siddarth Kaul was purchased for 3.8 Crore by the franchise in 2018 and had two brilliant seasons with them as well. He was the fulcrum of the bowling attack and complimented the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Sandeep Sharma to help SRH propel to the final round comfortably. But things have changed since then and with the presence of Bhuvi, Natarajan, Sharma, Vijay Shankar, and Khaleel Ahmed, one would really guess if he will ever get a game again. Thus that brings the question of affordability, considering the South Indian franchise have been nothing more than INR 10.75 crore remaining in the purse. Sending Kaul to the auction pool would’ve ensured the franchise saving a huge amount and could have splashed that in buying a credible overseas middle-order batsman, which they terribly lack.

A firm eye on a finisher in the trade window?

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s strategy is mostly governed by the maximization of resources and putting a blanket to weaknesses by channelling other paraphernalia. It is an understandable tactic but do they have a reliable finisher to get the job done? One can’t really trust the likes of Mitchell Marsh, Vijay Shankar, and Jason Holder. It has to be better than that. Thus comes the idea of a floating finisher - something they will be happy getting one in the trading window. The Retention ceremony clearly established that they didn’t want to take a risk on that count as they banked on their Indian resources but the duo of Trevor Bayliss and Tom Moody will not sleep peacefully till they cover that base.

Final Verdict

Overall, SRH didn’t make any drastic changes and by smartly retaining both Holder and Marsh, they have ensured a gaping hole has been filled. The release of Fabian Allen will be a topic of discussion for a long long time but now they can happily go to the auction and use the limited purse to target the few players they would like to have in their squad.

Overall rating: 7.5/10