The Sunrisers Hyderabad begin their VIVO IPL 2016 campaign on April 12 with an away match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The team sweated it out in Bangalore’s sweltering heat during an afternoon practice session on the eve of the match, and their coach, Tom Moody seemed pleased with the preparations that SRH have had leading up to it. “We have had a slight advantage given that we are starting our tournament tomorrow,” Moody said. “We have had a chance to watch a couple of matches unfold and that has given a little time to our international players who were involved in the World Twenty20 to freshen up mentally and physically. It has also given us a chance as a group to familiarise ourselves with each other personally and with their games. I am pretty comfortable with the preparations leading up to the game tomorrow.” The Sunrisers captain, David Warner, was among the first and the last to take stints in the batting nets, first facing the pacers and then hoiking a few off the spinners. Talking about Australia’s ploy to play Warner at No. 4 during the World Twenty20, Moody insinuated that for SRH the left-hander will open the innings. “Australia had their plans,” Moody said. “They had about four guys who could open the innings and Warner was the easiest to shift. Whether he was the right choice is a different argument. “The thing with David Warner, as he showed with us in IPL two years ago, is that he can bat anywhere. He was phenomenal for us when he batted at 4 in IPL 2014. We saw in our campaign last year that Warner is an extremely destructive batsman at the top of the order. You ask any opening bowler if he would prefer to see Warner bat at 1 or 4, they would rather see him coming in later,” Moody said. Even before they begin their campaign, SRH were struck with a body blow as Yuvraj Singh pulled out of the first two weeks of the IPL with an ankle injury. While Moody rued not having one of their key players at the start of the tournament, he hoped Yuvraj will join them later on and have an impact on the team. “Yuvi is a big loss. He is a big player and he has proved that. He has played a lot of cricket on this ground. His presence will be missed but right now we hope that he recovers as soon as possible. We are hoping he comes back within two weeks and is in consideration for selection. But a lot will depend on his meeting with specialists and his recovery cycle from there. He is a key player and a match-winner.” While he admitted that Yuvraj will be missed, Moody said he was glad to have another experienced Indian player in Ashish Nehra. “His arrival has been an enormous plus,” Moody said. “He is a wonderful bowler in top form and his experience on and off the field is valuable. He is a great character and a good personality to have in the dressing room. Already his time with the team has been fruitful not only for the other players but also for the support staff.