Bowlers need to have special skills to succeed in IPL, says Hanuma Vihari

Vihari says the dynamics of IPL have changed drastically since the first edition

HYDERABAD: Former India star G Hanuma Vihari feels that the days of someone playing an anchor role in the IPL are a thing of the past as the teams prefer to really go hard at the bowlers.

In an interaction with the media, the 31-year-old JioStar Expert Vihari,  who played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in its first edition in 2013, said it was all about fours and sixes now in the IPL.

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“The bowlers need to have special skills, a lot of variety – be it pace or spin. In fact, most of the teams prefer mystery or wrist spinners than finger spinners because of this,” he said.

“The dynamics of IPL have changed drastically since the first IPL was played. Look at how SRH set benchmarks for huge totals. I am sure breaching the 300-mark is going to be a talking point and there is a huge possibility if one looks at the practice games of this team,” Vihari said.

Reflecting on SRH, Vihari said the addition of Ishan Kishan, who should bat at No.3, would only make the team even more imposing in batting with Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma at the top, followed by the likes of Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy.

“I feel that SRH has covered all the bases pretty well, including the spin department by preferring Adam Zampa and Rahul Chahar. Even in pace, though I was a bit surprised by the decision to leave Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel can be a like-for-like replacement,” he said. “Even an 80 per cent Shami coming up with performances is a huge plus for the team, for he is such a quality bowler,” he added

Vihari said it would be interesting to see how quickly Nitish Kumar Reddy recovers from the injury break, which denied him match practice before the IPL. “However, I feel captain Pat Cummins being more experienced, should take less time to regain his prime form,” he added.

“Yes, there are a lot of expectations this time around, Nitish, and it is important how he handles it, especially if he doesn’t get runs in the first few games. But I must say if he has a great season, there is no stopping him for the next 10 years in franchise cricket,” Vihari said.

“My picks for the play-offs will be SRH, Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings,” he said.

On the three legends of IPL – MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Vihari felt that they continue to give a tough fight to the younger generation with their attitude, form and their willingness to adapt to the conditions on the given day.