Image Credit- AFP
In the 2024 Indian
Premier League, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s bowling coach Dale Steyn will be replaced
by former all-arounder James Franklin. Sunrisers appointed Steyn to the
position in 2022; however, Steyn left for personal reasons.
Franklin, an IPL player in 2011 and 2012 for the Mumbai Indians, will be
coaching for the first time. Former left-arm seam-bowling all-arounder Franklin
will team up with Sunrisers head coach Daniel Vettori, who was named head coach
following the 2023 campaign. The two had previously collaborated at Birmingham
Phoenix (the Hundred) and Middlesex (county cricket). Franklin is now an
assistant coach for Islamabad United in the PSL. He was previously the head
coach at Durham.
Many quicks,
including as Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Pat Cummins, Marco Jansen, Umran Malik, T
Natarajan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Jaydev Unadkat, and the uncapped Indian Akash
Singh, are part of the Sunrisers squad. Wanindu Hasaranga, Washington Sundar,
and Shahbaz Ahmed are among the spinners.
Sunrisers presented a formidable task for Vettori and Franklin given that they
placed eighth in 2022 and further dropped to tenth place in the previous
season. The team’s decline has been mostly attributed to the repeated leadership
changes. After just one season, former West Indies captain Brian Lara replaced
former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody last year.
One of the
Sunrisers’ most seasoned players, Kane Williamson, who had guided the team
since David Warner’s discharge in 2021, was let go prior to the 2023 player
auction. Williamson was the most expensive player on the Sunrisers roster in
2022 after spending eight seasons there, including the championship run in
2016. South Africa’s Aiden Markram has been the captain since the previous
campaign.