They need to go after Rachin: Pathan advises SRH ahead of IPL 2024 auction

NEW DELHI: Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction, former Indian pacer Irfan Pathan advised Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and urged the franchise to get Rachin Ravindra to add strength to their side. While speaking to Star Sports, Pathan said that the Hyderabad-based franchise needs a proper spinner who can take wickets.

He added that they have Mayank Markande, but SRH needs more than that and someone who is a regular wicket-taker.

The former cricketer said that they need all-rounders who can support both batting and bowling. He concluded by saying that 2023 World Cup star Ravindra can help them with the opening batting order role as well.

"Ideally, they would like to have a proper spinner who is a wicket-taker. They had Adil Rashid; they don't have his services now. Obviously, they have Mayank Markande but they need a bit more than that. If they have two all-rounders going really well as far as batting is concerned, Washington Sundar and Marco Jansen, they can actually play with the playing XI. A backup opener is very, very crucial for them and that is why they need to go after Rachin Ravindra big time," Pathan said.

The Kiwi youngster was the fourth-highest run scorer in the ODI World Cup 2023; he scored 578 runs with a strike rate of 106.44 after playing 10 matches. Meanwhile, Ravindra also picked up five wickets in nine innings and proved himself to be an effective wicket-taker as well.

Ahead of the upcoming season, the Sunrisers retained several players, including Aiden Markram, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Glenn Phillips, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, and others.

On the other hand, they released players like Adil Rashid, Akeal Hosein, Harry Brook, and others. The IPL 2024 auction will take place on December 19 in Dubai. 1166 players have registered themselves for the auction, including some big names like Rachin Ravindra, Travis Head and others.