Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy are all set to continue with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) following a highly successful season last year, where they finished second behind champions Kolkata Knight Riders.
Head and Reddy join Pat Cummins, Heinrich Klaasen, and Abhishek Sharma in the list of players retained by the franchise, owned by the Marans of Chennai.
The total spend on the five retentions so far amounts to INR 75 crore.
According to sources within the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Travis Head, who formed a potent opening partnership with Abhishek Sharma last season, has been retained for INR 14 crore.
Head’s previous price was INR 6.80 crore, after being bought by SRH in Dubai last year.
As reported by Cricpulse on October 16, Klaasen has been secured for INR 23 crore, while Pat Cummins, who is set to lead the team again, will stay for INR 18 crore.
Abhishek Sharma has been retained for INR 14 crore.
With Head (31) retained, SRH will continue with their explosive left-handed opening pair, who collectively scored 599 runs in 13 innings last season, at a blistering strike rate of 13.21 runs per over.
Head contributed 567 runs in 15 games at a remarkable strike rate of 191.5, maintaining an impressive average of 40.50.
Nitish Kumar Reddy has decided to stay with SRH for INR 6 crore.
Under BCCI regulations, retaining five capped players means the franchise forgoes a total of INR 75 crore from its purse, which can be allocated at the franchise’s discretion.
If the franchise exceeds this amount, the excess will be deducted from the remaining purse.
Had Nitish not earned his India cap, he would have been eligible for a price of just INR 4 crore, as per BCCI guidelines.
However, since his India debut earlier this month, the 21-year-old all-rounder from Andhra has been on an upward trajectory.
He is currently part of India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, with selectors viewing him as a potential successor to Hardik Pandya.
With the completion of their five capped retentions, Sunrisers now have INR 45 crore remaining to build their squad for the next three seasons, along with one RTM (Right to Match) card, which they can use to buy an uncapped player.
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