 "IPL 2024 SRH vs MI: Why Phillips plus Klaasen is a must for Hyderabad?")
Chasing 209 to win, Heinrich Klaasen gave Hyderabad hope that seemed impossible at the end of 17 overs of their innings against Kolkata Knight Riders. However, with the range of his shots, he managed to hit Mitchell Starc, the most expensive player of the IPL 2024 auction, for 26 runs in the 19th over.
Klaasen lacked a mature partner at the other end as Shahbaz Ahmed went for a glory shot when the game could have been finished with ones and twos. It is for this reason that Hyderabad must play Glenn Phillips, who is in the best form of his life right now.
Glenn Phillips' Record in T20s in 2024
In eight T20 international matches this year, Phillips, who bats at numbers five and six, has amassed 248 runs at an average of nearly 50 (49.6). This is alongside his superb fielding and more than adequate bowling skills.
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In the recent Test series against Australia, Phillips, who has developed himself into a real 360-degree player, had a five-wicket haul to his name. He is more than a decent off-spinner and, with 18 wickets in the T20 format, would give Hyderabad an off-spin option to complement Mayank Markande's leg spin and Shahbaz Ahmed's left-arm spin.
With three pacers in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, and Pat Cummins already available, there is no real need to play Marcio Jansen in the playing eleven. He can replace Aiden Markram, if and when required to bowl. But Phillips will do at four what Markram will not.
Batting at number four in international cricket, Phillips has an average of 37 and a strike rate of 152 in 39 innings for New Zealand.
Markram must bat at number three and Hyderabad must choose only between Rahul Tripathi and Mayank Agarwal to ensure they are making optimum use of their resources. If they play both, then either Markram or Tripathi would have to bat at number five.
Phillips has not performed well in the eight matches he has played in the IPL. But eight matches is too short a sample size to judge a player of Phillips' calibre. It is for this reason that Hyderabad must allow him to play to see if he can succeed in the richest league or not. If he does, SRH will be the biggest beneficiary.