“They don’t have a single all-rounder” – Robin Uthappa bashes Sunrisers Hyderabad’s tactics in the IPL 2023 auction

The next IPL 2023 season will include several new teams, including the defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the wake of a dismal IPL 2022 campaign, SRH cut ties with a number of its players, including captain Kane Williamson.

Recently, Aiden Markram was named captain of the squad. In the first season of the South African Twenty20 League, Markram captained Sunrisers Eastern Cape to victory. By signing Mayank Agarwal, Harry Brook, and Heinrich Klaassen, they improved their batting lineup for the next season.

The likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Umran Malik, etc. have already been kept on the squad. They undoubtedly consist of both seasoned veterans and up-and-coming talent. It should be fun to see how they do in this year’s competition.

Former Indian batsman Robin Uthappa spoke with Sunrisers Hyderabad wicketkeeper Sorabh Pant about the team’s dearth of all-rounders for the next IPL 2023 season. About the IPL 2023 auction, he criticized their strategy as “worst.” Uthappa couldn’t understand why his team didn’t sign one of the three all-rounders available (Ben Stokes, Sam Curran and Cameron Green).

Robin Uthappa talks about SRH’s tactics in the IPL 2023 auction

It was widely expected that Sunrisers Hyderabad will acquire Ben Stokes due to their need for a captain. Uthappa wondered aloud why they had failed to get Stokes at the auction. That, he screamed, defies logic.

“It’s beyond me like they have a good side. They don’t have a single all-rounder. It is beyond me how you have the worst in an IPL auction. And you don’t get probably one of the three most talked about all-rounders at this point in time in international cricket,” Robin Uthappa said in an interaction with Sorabh Pant.

“How do you not go after Ben Stokes? The only justification that I heard or understood as of now is that oh we have the impact player role, so we don’t need an all-rounder. Which team doesn’t need an all-rounder? I don’t get it.”

While Green and Curran were not targets, Sunrisers Hyderabad did make an effort to get Stokes. At one point, they offered INR 14.25 crores for Stokes, but in the end, he was sold to Chennai Super Kings for INR 16.25 crores. Washington Sundar has emerged as the team’s best all-arounder, and he’s also become better. Another player with all-around ability is Marco Jansen.