Hyderabad skipper Kumar Sangakkara expressed disappointment that Shikhar Dhawan will miss out on the team's first ever game in the T20 Cricket League(T20-League) but added that he believes the pace attack the team boasts of gives it a major boost.
The newly-formed team, which imported most of its players from the now defunct Hyderabad, will play its first game against Pune India on Friday and their skipper was confident that having Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma in the team will help them make an early impact.
"We missed Ishant last year and I think having him and Dale Steyn spearheading new ball attack is going to be crucial.
"We just need that kind of presence at the top of our bowling attack. We are looking forward to make an impact with them. They can give vital breakthroughs with new ball or in the middle or in any situation," " he told reporters on Monday.
The former Sri Lankan skipper added that the team will sorely miss top-order batsman Shikhar Dhawan.
"Unfortunately, Shikhar Dhawan, who is going to be our most important player, has suffered a fracture and he is out for few weeks. So we have a few new faces coming in," said Sangakkara.
The Stylish left-hander added that he was excited to be back in the T20-League and he had the chance to perform well after disappointing with the Hyderabad over the past 3 years.
"It is not exactly the same team. We have few additions. I am really excited to be back. Over the last three years, under the old franchise, we hadn't really performed as well as we should have."
Sunrisers' chief coach Tom Moody said believes the home-grown players like Ishant and Shikhar Dhawan are important for their make-up. He also added that the team has exciting young talent and hoped that new faces would do well.
"We have seen in five editions of T20-League that there were always one or two players who surprised competition, the players who were relatively unknown to cricketing fraternity in India and also the world," Moody said.
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