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All-rounder Washington Sundar sustained a season-ending hamstring injury that has only added to the woes of a Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) struggling to get going in IPL 2023.
Aiden Markram and Co. have lost three matches on the trot and only have two wins in seven games, with their batters letting them down. It took seven games for star all-rounder Washington Sundar to open his wickets tally as he accounted for three DC batters. However, he picked up an injury that ruled him out of IPL 2023.
SRH needs to find an able replacement for Washington, a player that provided plenty of balance to the team. While they can make do for a while by using the Impact Sub-rule wisely, signing the ideal replacement could help revive their season.
On that note, let’s look at three options SRH could replace Washington Sundar with.
#3 Shashank Singh
A true journeyman in the Indian domestic circuit and a former SRH player, Shashank Singh could be a decent stop-gap replacement for Washington Sundar. The 31-year-old all-rounder is a hard-hitting lower-order batter who can bowl some handy off-spin or switch to medium pace.
Playing for Chattisgarh in the Indian domestic circuit right now, Shashank has been part of the Rajasthan Royals, the Delhi Daredevils, and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the past.
He played for SRH in IPL 2022, featuring in ten games but scoring only 69 runs in five innings, albeit at a decent strike rate of 146.81. His overall career T20 strike rate of 140.68 suggests he is a powerful player, and SRH seems to be lacking that right now.
While he doesn’t fill the void Washington Sundar’s absence leaves, Shashank can help SRH plug some other holes in their side.
#2 Utkarsh Singh
24-year-old all-rounder Utkarsh Singh could be a quality replacement for Washington Sundar. Hailing from Jharkhand, Utkarsh is a left-hand batter who bowls some quality off-spin and isn’t only a part-timer.
He has batted in multiple positions in the top order for his state side but prefers to bat at No.3. However, his batting isn’t the part of his game SRH will pay much attention to, with his miserly and economic off-spin a like-for-like replacement with Sundar.
Utkarsh has 21 wickets in 25 T20s at an economy rate of only 6.34 and a bowling SR of 17.1. While the gulf in cricketing standards between domestic cricket in the IPL is high, you have to start somewhere! While he might not immediately get into their XI, Utkarsh Singh would be an apt replacement for Washington Sundar.
#1 Sanjay Yadav
To those who follow the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) or TN cricket in general, it won’t be a surprise to see Sanjay Yadav’s name on this list. The powerful all-rounder could allow SRH to make the most of this crisis and solve other problems in their team.
Sanjay is a left-hand batter but also a left-arm spinner, meaning he won’t be a like-for-like replacement with the ball for Sundar. However, with Aiden Markram perfectly capable of bowling four overs of off-spin, almost akin to what Sundar does, they could use his injury to draft in a player to solve their Strike Rate issues.
Sanjay Yadav was the highest run-scorer in TNPL 2022, scoring 452 runs in only nine matches at a phenomenal strike rate of 186.78!, despite regularly coming in to bat at No.5. A terrific ball-striker, especially against spinners, he could be for SRH what Shivam Dube is for CSK.
Their intent and batting against spin have been worrying for SRH, with Markram and Klaasen looking like the only batters remotely comfortable facing spin. Considering this, Sanjay Yadav would be one of SRH’s best choices to replace his state teammate Washington Sundar.
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