Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) has virtually finalized its retentions ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) big auction in December later this year. SRH decided to keep hold of Indian rookie Abhishek Sharma, Australian all-rounder Pat Cummins, and South African power hitter Heinrich Klaasen. SRH is also in the final stage of finalizing the retention of Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and Australian opener Travis Head.

Among Klaasen, Cummins, and Abhishek, the Proteas wicketkeeper-batter is the first-choice retention for INR 23 crore (US $2.74 million approximately), followed by the Australian Red-ball captain for INR 18 crore (US $2.14 million approximately) and the Indian opener for INR 14 crore (US $1.67 million approximately).

It is anticipated that Cummins, who captained SRH the previous season, will do so again this year. The Australian pacer had an outstanding season with the ball as well, claiming 18 wickets in 16 games, the second-most wickets for the SRH team. The 22-year-old young cricketer, Abhishek made his India debut after displaying outstanding performances in the IPL. The left-handed batter scored 484 runs at an extraordinary strike rate of 204.21 in 16 innings.

Meanwhile, Head had hit 567 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 191.55. The Aussie left-handed batter finished the season as the fourth-highest run-scorer overall. Klaasen scored 479 runs with a strike rate of 171.07 in 15 innings, which was the third-highest for SRH behind Head and Sharma. Nitish also played a vital role in the middle order for SRH, amassing 303 runs at a strike rate of 142.92 and claiming three wickets.

SRH had an incredible season last year, finishing second in the league stage with eight victories in 14 games, mostly due to the explosive batting of Head and Abhishek up the order and Klaasen in the middle. SRH ultimately lost the championship match against Kolkata Knight Riders and finished as runners-up.