"We really wanted him": Muttiah on securing Travis for Sunrisers

DUBAI: Former Sri Lanka star spinner and Sunrisers Hyderabad spin bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan stated that the franchise "really wanted" Travis Head for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.

Head, who produced remarkable performances in the World Test Championship final and the ODI World Cup final earlier this year, was one of the names with a hefty price tag. Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad were engaged in a fierce bidding battle. However, Head became a part of the Orange family for a price tag of 6.8 crore.

Muralitharan talked about the acquisition while appearing on JioCinema's 'Match Center Live Auction Special' during the IPL 2024 player auction and said, "We really wanted him (Travis Head) because we needed an opening left-handed batter. Adding to that he can bowl spin as well. I never thought we would get him for that price because of his performance being tremendous in the last couple of years in T20Is and ODIs for Australia."

"So, we were waiting for this, and we thought that we would have a tough fight with a lot of teams but in the end, CSK came and fought with us. But we knew they don't need a frontline player as they have Devon Conway, so they will stop somewhere," Muralitharan added.

Travis has been in fine form for the Aussies, scoring centuries in the World Test Championship final and the ICC Cricket World Cup finals against India. In 23 T20Is, he has scored 554 runs at an average of 29.15 and a strike rate of over 146, with one fifty.

Overall in 107 T20s, he has scored 2,494 runs at an average of 27.71 and a strike rate of over 134, with one century and 10 fifties. The left-handed batter was also named the ICC Men's Player of the Month for November 2023.

Head beat tough competition from teammate Glenn Maxwell and India seamer Mohammed Shami to claim the honour.