Inexplicable selection calls are now routine with Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Umran Malik’s repeated omissions in IPL 2023, though baffling, were not out of the ordinary, writes Sarah Waris.

Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Aiden Markram was left with no answers when asked about Umran Malik’s continued omission from the playing XI in 2023, stating that the decision was taken ‘behind the scene’, leaving everyone surprised.

Malik has left the cricketing world in awe with his ability to bowl over 150kmph consistently, even sending down a 157kmph delivery in the IPL last season. The speedster, who made his debut in 2021, had a breakthrough season last year, where he scalped 22 wickets at an economy rate of 9.03. His strike rate of 13.41, however, indicates his consistent wicket-taking skills, and he was given an India cap soon after.

Arguably one of India’s finest fast-bowling talents, Umran has played only seven games in the ongoing IPL. He started off by picking up five wickets in his first four games, before going wicketless in the next three. He had figures of 0-18 (3), 0-14 (2) and 0-22 (one over) in the last three games before he was dropped for the remainder of the season, playing his last game on 29 April.

Ahead of SRH’s clash against RCB on Thursday (May 18), skipper Markram was asked about the prolonged absence of Umran after the toss, to which he shrugged his shoulders and replied, “Not too sure, to be honest [why he’s not playing]. Certainly, he’s a player with the X-factor, bowls at 150kmph, but I don’t really know what’s behind the scenes.”

It is a bit worrisome when the captain says "I don't know what is about behind the scenes……" I have been perplexed about Umran Malik not getting a game too.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 18, 2023

Markram’s comments suggest that the skipper has limited liberty in picking the troops in his team in a season where SRH have constantly chopped and changed their side, with 23 players taking the field – the most among all sides. Against RCB, there were as many as five changes to the line-up. As many as seven cricketers have played two or fewer games among them in 2023, indicating how SRH have not allowed a fixed combination to take the park.

They have tried as many as six opening partners, with no pair being given more than four games at a stretch this year. Sunrisers have also made regular changes to their batting line-up, constantly shuffling the positions of Harry Brook and Abhishek Sharma in particular, switching them between the middle order and the opening slot.

Brook, who scored a hundred while opening, was also dropped midway through the season, as was Mayank Agarwal, for whom the team shelled out INR 8.25 crore at the auctions. However, they were inconsistent, and even if their omissions can be justified, Mayank Markande’s cannot.

Markande was dropped from the playing XI against RCB despite being the pick of their bowlers (12 wickets, ER: 7.89) – among Sunrisers players with more than two wickets this year, nobody else has an economy rate of below eight. He could also have been handy against Virat Kohli, whose struggles against spin are well-documented. Kohli has a strike rate of 119.2 against the leg-spinner, but was hardly troubled as he went on to smash his sixth IPL ton in an impressive run-chase.

SRH’s usage of their impact players has come under scrutiny as well, especially against Lucknow Super Giants when they played three overseas players. The well-thought-out gambit was hailed by experts, but it ended up costing them, with the side seemingly unaware of how to handle their various resources. Earlier, they had also erred when they named T Natarajan in their XI against KKR while batting first instead of Washington Sundar, a capable batter. Sundar was later brought in the second innings, where he bowled.

SRH’s woes have endured since 2021 when they tasted their first disaster season after five successful years. They won the IPL in 2016 and reached the playoffs every year until 2020, but just three wins in 2021 forced a number of changes, including removing David Warner as skipper midway through the season. The left-hander, who emerged as a local favourite in Hyderabad after his social media posts in Telugu [the local language] and for being a prolific run-scorer for the side since he joined SRH in 2014, was forced to cheer for his side from the stands as he did not play a single game in the second half when the IPL returned to the UAE.

That year, SRH assistant coach Brad Haddin confirmed that the decision to drop Warner was not a “cricket decision.”

“Let me tell you that it wasn’t a cricket decision he wasn’t playing. I think the one thing you’ve got to realise with Davey is that he wasn’t out of form, he was just out of match practice. He had a long break through Covid. He didn’t go to West Indies or Bangladesh. But he turned up in really good headspace. He was hitting the ball well. Circumstances out of all of our control, even the coaching staff’s, for some reason he didn’t play. But [his IPL exclusion] wasn’t because he was out of form.”

Warner was not retained the following year, with SRH also surprisingly parting ways with Rashid Khan. Reports suggested that the Afghan spinner was keen on being the first retention for the side in 2022 ahead of the mega-auction, but SRH wanted Kane Williamson as their number one. Brian Lara, the current SRH head coach, stated that the Afghanistan spinner was “not much of a wicket-taker,” and Rashid was off to Gujarat Titans.

Since joining Gujarat, Rashid has picked up 42 wickets and is the third-highest wicket-taker in the last two editions. He says that having a “certain role” in the team has helped him excel.

The 2022 auction was not without drama either, with assistant coach Simon Katich resigning soon after the event, less than two months after getting the role. Reportedly, he was unhappy with the team’s tactics at the table as the pre-auction strategy that was discussed was not followed. SRH ended up with a number of big buys during the auction, including purchasing Nicholas Pooran for INR 10.75 crore.

The West Indian scored 306 runs last year at a strike rate of 144.34 but was released ahead of the 2023 season. He was bought by Lucknow Super Giants and has been a star performer for them. Williamson, who was also their skipper in 2022, and was selected over Rashid in the retentions, was also released after spending eight years with the team.

Mohammad Nabi, who was with the franchise until 2021, admitted that the recent workings of the management frustrated a lot of players. “When I first came in 2017, we played the best cricket for the next few editions. But I’m clueless about what happened in the last two editions. The team combination, and coaching staff everything got changed and the atmosphere was completely opposite. There were players who didn’t want to play with them, it was bad.

“I don’t think this should happen with a big franchise, they need to think how to build and not destroy. Rashid was a brand of SRH, they let him go. When they didn’t want Rashid, I don’t know what were they planning. They had invested in him so they shouldn’t have left him.”

Former SRH coach Tom Moody also weighed in. “There are teams, where there’s a lot of cooks in the kitchen. I think that applies in this situation we are talking about the Sunrisers. There’s clearly a lot of cooks in the kitchen and we don’t know who the leader is.”

A number of honest revelations by individuals privy to the happenings within the camp suggest the management is prone to taking knee-jerk reactions without adequate communication or defining roles. It has cost them already, with poor showings in the last three seasons, and it’s time they realise that investing in players and backing them is what separates a champion team from the rest.

To bet on the IPL with our Match Centre partners bet365, head here.