The sun was beating hard at the Rajiv Gandhi International cricket stadium as the ‘Orange Army’ (as they are fondly referred to in the IPL) made their way for a practice game to get into the groove before the IPL starts rolling. Coach Tom Moody had his plans chalked out for the day, as he moved around the pitch with a notepad in his hands making notes of the proceedings. Everyone got to hit and bowl a few in a proper 20-20 fixture and the mood in the camp looked upbeat; all this under the watchful eyes of mentor VVS Laxman and bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan. After reaching the playoffs in the 2013 edition of the IPL, the Sunrisers had to be satisfied with a number six spot in the next two seasons to follow. Coach Tom Moody and company were more than eager to better their record this time around. “We are very motivated like we are every year; there is no doubt about that. We are keen to play finals cricket. We are setting our target on being in that top four,” Moody said, speaking to IPLT20.com. “Had we won one of our last two games last year, we would have ended up second on the table. We weren’t that far off. We had a very good season last year. If it wasn’t for a couple of unfortunate situations in our last two games here at home, against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians, we would have ended second,” he continued looking back at Sunrisers’ campaign last year. “We take a lot of confidence out of last year. If we repeat the way we played last year and look to raise the bar just a little bit then I am confident that we will be playing finals cricket. We are confident that we will do it with the squad that we have retained and we are also pleased with the players that we secured in the auction. We are feeling in a strong position.” The Sunrisers made some smart picks in the 2016 IPL Player Auctions. But the biggest name that caught everyone’s attention was all-rounder Yuvraj Singh. Yuvraj was meant to beef up the side’s middle order - something that the side had been lacking over the years - a strong Indian middle-order batsman who could also bowl a few overs. “A player like Yuvraj Singh is important to any team. He is not only a match-winner with the bat but he is a very useful bowler in those middle overs,” Moody spoke of Yuvraj’s signing. “Going into the auction, we were aware that we needed to strengthen our middle order. Hence we targeted players like Yuvraj and Deepak Hooda to give us that depth in our middle order and they compliment what we already have in our squad. What we are aware of this year is building a great depth and strength in our squad and by securing people like Aditya Tare, Tirumalasetti Suman who has had a lot of IPL experience in the past, we feel that we have got that depth of talent to be able to cover for any circumstance and Yuvraj’s absence is one of them. With Yuvraj being injured at this stage, you don’t know what is around the corner - you need that depth in the squad.” “Sadly, Yuvraj will be out for a couple of weeks but we don’t know how long that is going to be,” Moody hoped for Yuvraj’s speedy recovery from an ankle injury that he sustained during the recently concluded ICC World T20. But one of the major highlights is the team’s bowling department that has a variety of fast bowling options; out of which four of them are left-arm pacers. Their new entrants has the experience of Ashish Nehra and the exuberance of young Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman who impressed everyone with his skills set in the bilateral series against India and in the Asia Cup. Moody felt, having a strong left-arm pace battery was a conscious effort considering the format of the game. “Yes, we were keen to have some left-arm options in our pace attack and we also felt that in shorter form of cricket they are effective. At the end of the day, Nehra and Mustafizur were introduced into our squad since both are top quality world class bowlers. Whether they bowl left or right hand it doesn’t make any difference. They are top class and they are a welcome addition to the squad,” reasoned Moody. “It is about what they bring to the table as bowlers,” he continued. “They are all different type of bowlers and all have various strengths at different phases of the game and we will be selecting accordingly. It is great to have someone like Nehra who has so much experience and is in such good form at the moment. He is the senior bowler in the team.”

Moody also spoke highly of the talented Mustafizur. “I met Mustafizur during the World Cup and he seems a good bright young kid. He will be looking forward to learning and looking forward to the opportunity. He is taken to big game cricket quite easily and we have already seen that in the World Cup stage and in the Asia Cup, big games against South Africa and India in the T20 World Cup. I feel he is more than comfortable and happy in big match situations. We have full confidence that he will adapt and adapt quickly.” Naman Ojha had been donning the gloves for the team all these years, but the Sunrisers have added Mumbai keeper-batsman Aditya Tare into the squad. Tare is coming off a successful Ranji Trophy campaign where he led Mumbai to a 41st Ranji Trophy title. His domestic exploits are well known and he could well be a good addition to the squad. “It is good to have two wicket-keepers. Keepers are not always going to be fit and we also felt that Tare has the ability to play as a pure batsman,” Moody said. “So we have got confidence that he will be mobile as a player, whether it be any position in the batting order or have the ability to take on that wicket-keeping position.” One of the keys to Sunrisers’ success in the past has been the form of their opening combination in Shikhar Dhawan and Captain David Warner. The left-handed duo has been instrumental in getting the side off to a good start in the past and Moody expected it to be no different this time around. “Any top order is important to a side, whether it is here in Hyderabad or any away game; your top order takes a huge responsibility in the first phase of the game. If Shikhar and Warner can get you off to a good start like they did last year, then nothing like it. I am very confident. “We have got a good balance of experience and youth in this side which is important. We have got some experienced campaigners in Yuvraj, Nehra, Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and some young talent that will work off those experienced players. We have an exciting balance,” he signed off.