Travis Head, Australia's hero in the ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad, has linked up with his Sunrisers Hyderabad team-mates and coaching staff at their home in Hyderabad, and is hoping for "a really successful season and a lot of good times".
"I am feeling good. Good to be back. Yeah, looking forward to a good season. The team looks good. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone and hopefully, I can contribute some runs," he said in a video released by Sunrisers. "I have heard amazing things about the Orange Army. Looking forward to playing in front of everyone."
Head's only previous stint in the IPL came in 2016 and 2017, when he turned out for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He scored 205 runs in ten games across the two seasons, scoring at a strike rate of 138.51.
ing into the new season with new goals and ambitions pic.twitter.com/NxGGDklLnU
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) March 17, 2024
Sunrisers have a happy connection with Australian cricketers. Their only title win came in 2016 - they beat RCB, who had Head in their ranks at time, in the final - under David Warner's leadership. Warner, now part of Delhi Capitals, is still the third-highest run-getter in IPL history with 6397 runs, only behind Virat Kohli (7263) and Shikhar Dhawan (6617). And this year, they will be led by Pat Cummins, their ODI World Cup-winning captain.
"I guess win as many games as we possibly can, try and contribute somewhat to that cause, and yeah, hopefully have a really successful season and a lot of good times," Head said of his expectations. "Can't wait to play in front of the crowd.
"Hopefully [we make] the IPL final and hopefully we see the sunglasses [referring to the celebrations after the 2023 ODI World Cup win]."