Pathan reveals SRH's 'must-have' player for IPL 2024

Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction, former Indian pacer Irfan Pathan advised Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and urged the franchise to acquire Rachin Ravindra to bolster their side.

While speaking to Star Sports, Pathan mentioned that the Hyderabad-based franchise needs a proper spinner who can take wickets. He added that while they have Mayank Markande, SRH needs more and someone who is a consistent wicket-taker.

The former cricketer emphasized the need for all-rounders who can contribute to both batting and bowling. He concluded by stating that Rachin Ravindra, the star of the 2023 World Cup, can also assist with the opening batting order role.

"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, scoring 578 runs with a strike rate of 106.44 after playing 10 matches. Meanwhile, Ravindra also picked up five wickets in nine innings, proving 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 is scheduled to take place on December 19 in Dubai, with 1166 players registering for the auction, including some big names like Rachin Ravindra and Travis Head.