Improving on last season our priority, says Moody
mumbai: Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Tom Moody believes his side will not be able to use the same formula that won them the IPL trophy last for the upcoming campaign.
The former Australia cricketer said that while getting into the knockout stage was the first target for every team in the tournament, the defending champions side would only be able to do so if they improved their on-field performances from last season.
“You need to constantly evolve as a coach, as a player and as a team. The same things don’t tend to work day in day out, particularly in a fast-moving game like T20,” Moody was quoted as saying by Espncricinfo.
“To me, it is not so much asking us as reigning champions defending our title. That is not what it is about. It is about us looking to improve on what we did last year,” said Moody when asked about the Hyderabad franchise’s targets for the 2017 season. Moody knows exactly what worked for his team last season. He highlighted the performance of Australian opener David Warner and his partnership with Shikhar Dhawan as the “cornerstone” of the team’s success.
Warner was the leading rungetter for the side last season with 848 runs at an average of 60.57. He managed 88 fours and 31 sixes among his nine half-centuries from 17 matches.
“The real cornerstone to our success was firstly our captain, David Warner, and his extraordinary season, and secondly, his partnership with Shikhar Dhawan. Both shared the best opening combination of the tournament. If you have your top order firing, you go a long way towards building a strong total,” Moody said.