Former New Zealand star James Franklin likely to replace Dale Steyn as SRH's bowling coach

According to ESPNcricinfo, Steyn who was appointed by SRH in 2022 has pulled out of the upcoming season due to personal reasons.

Franklin as a player was a part of MI's team in 2011 and 2012. His stint with SRH will mark the beginning of his first coaching spell in the IPL.

The former left-arm pacer will link up with another Blackcaps icon Daniel Vettori. The 45-year-old is considered to be the most successful spinner in the history of New Zealand cricket. He was appointed as the head coach of the franchise after the conclusion of the 2023 edition.

Both players have worked together in Middlesex (county cricket) as well as Birmingham Phoenix (the Hundred). Franklin was also the head coach of Durham and currently, he serves as the assistant coach of Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Franklin would be looking to bring the best out of SRH's top-quality pace bowling line-up which consists of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Pat Cummins, Marco Jansen, Umran Malik, T Natarajan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Jaydev Unadkat and the uncapped Indian Akash Singh.

Even SRH's spin bowling unit boasts talent which includes the likes of Wanindu Hasaranga, Washington Sundar and Shahbaz Ahmed.

Franklin will face a huge challenge ahead of the IPL 2024 as in the previous edition the 2016 champions finished in last position.

Ahead of the 2024 season, SRH brought in some quality players to strengthen their team. Australia star duo of Travis Head and Pat Cummins. Sri Lanka's star spinner Hasaranga could turn up to provide cover in the spin department as well as add depth to the batting set-up.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) IPL 2024 squad: Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram*, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips*, Heinrich Klaasen*, Mayank Agarwal, Anmolpreet Singh, Upendra Singh Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen*, Washington Sundar, Sanvir Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi*, Shahbaz Ahmed (traded from RCB), Travis Head*, Wanindu Hasaranga*, Pat Cummins*, Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh, Jhathavedh Subramanyan. (ANI)