"I think Kane Williamson is going to be 'Hyderabadi bakhra' in that team" - Wasim Jaffer on SRH squad

Former India batter Wasim Jaffer opined that Kane Williamson has been made a 'bakhra' or sacrificial lamb, in the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad, as he will have to do the heavy lifting for the team after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 auction.

Apart from Williamson, SRH have added Rahul Tripathi and Nicholas Pooran to their batting lineup along with Aiden Markram and Glenn Phillips - only one of whom will probably make it to the playing XI. They also have the young duo of Abhishek Sharma and Abdul Samad in the team. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Jaffer said:

"I think Kane Williamson is going to be ‘Hyderabadi bakhra’ in that team. They have good options but Kane has to do the hard yards in this side."

He went on to suggest that the New Zealand skipper's ideal position in the SRH lineup would be at No. 3.

Jaffer argued that Williamson could end up getting out early trying to score quick runs in the powerplay. He said:

"I think Kane Williamson at 3 is probably the best position for him. You don’t want to get him in the powerplay and he tries to score runs and get out. He needs to bat through the innings, so 3 is probably the position for him."

Wasim Jaffer suggests Abhishek Sharma as potential opener for SRH

Wasim Jaffer said that Abhishek Sharma, for whom SRH shelled out ₹6.25 crores in the IPL 2022 auction, could be an option to open the innings. He said:

"I’ve actually seen Abhishek Sharma open the batting because he plays for Indian Oil and I have seen him do well. He is a good striker of the ball. So that is one option."

21-year-old Sharma opened the innings in the latter stages of the 2021 season for SRH. The team's spin-bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan stated after the auction that Sharma would be batting at the top of the order along with captain Williamson.