The Sunrisers Hyderabad made their Indian Premier League debut in 2013 and were crowned champions in 2016. SRH, after their stupendous performance in 2016, retained a majority of their players for the tenth edition of the IPL.
They reached the Playoffs with the same team in 2017, but SRH will have to let go many players from their squad due to the new retention policy. It has to look at players' form before they make any choices. As a result, popular players like Yuvraj Singh will have to be ignored to retain match-winners.
SRH will only be allowed to retain a maximum of five players and has to be spot on while retaining players as it will also hit their purse for the mega auction.
IPL retention at a glance
A team can retain a maximum of 3 capped Indian players, 2 foriegners and 2 uncapped Indian players.
If a team retains three players --the first player will get Rs 15 crore, second will get Rs 11 crore and the third player will get Rs 7 crore.
If a team retains two players --the first player will get Rs 12.5 crore, second will get Rs 8.5 crore.
If a team retains only one player,he will get Rs 12.5 crore.
Here is a look at key players they could retain.
Indians
Shikhar Dhawan
The Indian opener in all formats is a destroyer at the top and can deal with both the spinners and pacers with tremendous ease. The left-hander has been scoring heavily for India, and his form will be one of the main reasons, why Shikhar will be the number one pick among the Indian batsmen.
Shikhar in IPL 2017: 14 matches, 479 runs
Overall IPL career: 127 matches, 3561 runs
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar has been an integral part of the SRH team in the last two seasons. He impressed in 2017 and has become an even lethal bowler now. The pacer is one of the best bowlers in world cricket when it comes to swinging the new ball and also takes a wicket at the death, making him a must-have for SRH in IPL 2018.
Bhuvneshwar in IPL 2017: 14 matches, 26 wickets
Overall IPL career: 90 matches, 158 wickets
Overseas
David Warner
It goes without saying, Warner will be their number one pick for SRH ahead of IPL 2018 auction. Warner is a destructive player, who can score runs all around the ground with an amazing strike rate. After his success as SRH captain, he might not only be retained as a player but as their skipper too.
Warner in IPL 2017: 14 matches, 641 runs
Overall IPL career: 114 matches, 4014 runs
Rashid Khan
The Afghanistan bowler was one of the standouts for SRH. His leggies were difficult to face, helping him pick wickets. He was an economical bowler too. He has been a revelation in T20 cricket leagues around the world. With only three players allowed to be retained pre-auction, SRH, in all probability, will go for the option of RTM and get their spin wizard.
Rashid in IPL 2017: 14 matches, 17 wickets
Overall IPL career: 14 matches, 17 wickets
