Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad are the defending IPL champions Getty

Sunrisers Hyderabad will go into the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL) as defending champions after winning the crown last year. Under the captaincy of David Warner, the Hyderabad-based franchise defeated Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2016 final, ending the campaign with a total of 11 wins and six losses.

Looking to defend their title, the franchise made quite a few changes following the IPL auction held earlier this year. The Sunrisers did not retain England limited overs captain Eoin Morgan and New Zealand's Trent Boult.

The franchise instead made headlines for giving Afghanistan players Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan contracts for Rs 3m (£35,800, $44,700) and Rs 40m (£478,700, $596,600) respectively. England all-rounder Chris Jordan is another addition, having previously played for RCB.

The Hyderabad side have a relatively injury-free side ahead of their opening game against RCB, but Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman will join the squad only after the opening game.

Coach: Tom Moody

Key player

David Warner: While the Hyderabad skipper could miss the opening game of the 2017 season as he was given leave by the franchise to recharge, it is likely to pay dividends in the latter stages of the tournament.

The Australian scored 848 runs in the 2016 IPL season, the most by any Australian and only second behind Kohli who had 973 runs.

Overall, Warner has bagged 14 IPL man-of-the-match awards – the most by an Australian – and is three behind Chris Gayle who has taken home 17. If the franchise have a shot of retaining their title, they will need a fit and firing Warner present in the team.

Fixtures

05/04/17Wednesday3.30pm BSTSunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers BangaloreHyderabad
09/04/17Sunday11:30am BSTSunrisers Hyderabad v Gujarat LionsHyderabad
12/04/17Wednesday3.30pm BSTMumbai Indians v Sunrisers HyderabadMumbai
15/04/17Saturday11:30am BSTKolkata Knight Riders v Sunrisers HyderabadKolkata
17/04/17Monday3:30pm BSTSunrisers Hyderabad v Kings XI PunjabHyderabad
19/04/17Wednesday3:30pm BSTSunrisers Hyderabad v Delhi DaredevilsHyderabad
22/04/17Saturday11:30am BSTRising Pune Supergiants v Sunrisers HyderabadPune
25/04/17Tuesday3:30pm BSTRoyal Challengers Bangalore v Sunrisers HyderabadBangalore
28/04/17Friday3:30pm BSTKings XI Punjab v Sunrisers HyderabadChandigarh
30/04/17Sunday3:30pm BSTSunrisers Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight RidersHyderabad
02/05/17Tuesday3:30pm BSTDelhi Daredevils v Sunrisers HyderabadDelhi
06/05/17Saturday11:30am BSTSunrisers Hyderabad v Rising Pune SupergiantsHyderabad
08/05/17Monday3:30pm BSTSunrisers Hyderabad v Mumbai IndiansHyderabad
13/05/17Saturday11:30am BSTGujarat Lions v Sunrisers HyderabadKanpur

IPL history

The Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise was formed in 2013 following the termination of the Deccan Chargers for breach of contract. Before winning the IPL for the first time in 2016, their previous best finish was in 2013 when they reached the play-off stage.

Squad

Tanmay Agarwal, Mohammad Nabi, Ekalavya Dwivedi, Rashid Khan, Pravin Tambe, Chris Jordan, Ben Laughlin, Mohammed Siraj, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, David Warner (C), Moises Henriques, Naman Ojha, Ricky Bhui, Kane Williamson, Siddarth Kaul, Bipul Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Yuvraj Singh, Ben Cutting, Abhimanyu Mithun, Mustafizur Rahman, Barinder Sran, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar.

Prediction

While the Hyderabad outfit were not favourites to win the IPL last year, it would be wise not to rule them out this year as they have an injury free squad and with Warner, they can be confident of making the play-offs.

Sunrisers Hyderabad India cricket Indian Premier League