Team Above Self

Moments after the euphoria of clinching their maiden IPL triumph had settled down, the entire Sunrisers Hyderabad unit got into a neat huddle just inside the boundary line near their dugout as the IPL officials were busy getting the presentation ceremony ready.

After a couple of rounds of jumping, dancing and singing, the huddle got a little bit tighter, a little bit intense. Each person paused as skipper David Warner and head coach Tom Moody spoke briefly. Despite the chaos around them, everyone stood exactly where they were for a good five minutes. No one moved.

It seemed every player, and indeed the support staff, wanted to soak in the feeling of crossing over the finish line, of reaching the pinnacle, of being part of a fitting climax to their hard work before the start of this spectacular journey this season. Probably everyone in that huddle knew that the process of becoming champions did not start on April 9, but much before that.

Over the last three seasons since the SRH franchise replaced Deccan Chargers, they resembled a student that neither failed an exam nor came out with flying colours. They would just about pass. In 2013, SRH made the playoffs but crashed out in the eliminator. In the next two seasons, they raised hopes of qualifying but lost crucial matches to finish sixth on both occasions. It was a case of so near, yet so far. They knew it was time to cross the bridge, to pass with distinction.

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Thus, began the process of filling the holes in their squad and wiping the chinks in their armour. There were three major aspects that they had to look into: lack of quality Indians, lack of bowling support for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and lack of enough all-rounders.

Moody, Warner and the think-tank were ready to sacrifice big names for the bigger cause. Going into the 2016 auction, they did away with Dale Steyn, the No. 1 fast bowler in the world who wasn't as effective in the IPL. They also released the highly marketable and lovable Kevin Pietersen, and two Indian fast bowlers who've had their fair share of success: Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar.

Instead, they fished for quality Indians with both bat and ball, and snapped up the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra, Barinder Sran and Deepak Hooda. The first two were highly experienced international players, the latter two young, promising prospects. Nehra and Sran took care of adding depth to their bowling, but they wanted to add one more piece to their jigsaw puzzle. Enter their masterstroke, the Fizz. Resisting the temptation of getting a big name on board again, SRH picked up Mustafizur Rahman, the young Bangladesh bowler who defied his age and maturity while bowling at the death. Rahman added to Bhuvneshwar's cunningness with the ball, which was exactly what SRH needed.

"Outstanding performance by the two," Warner said after the win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday night. "It's a credit to them, the way they've played the whole tournament. Bhuvi has been in and out of the Indian team, but to me he's a world-class finisher. I've got the utmost faith in him, the way that he plays his cricket. And then there is Rahman, who is a promising player for Bangladesh."

The first two holes plugged, the third was about adding another all-rounder besides Moises Henriques. SRH didn't go for the Shane Watsons and the Dwayne Bravos of the world, instead had trust on the lesser-known Ben Cutting. As it turned out, he gave the cutting edge for SRH in the final with his quick-fire 39* and 2/35.

"We go back to the auction," Warner said. "Our coach Tom and (mentor VVS) Laxman had the belief that we needed another all-rounder just in case Moises was not fit or unable to play. Cutting played a big role with us, adding an extra string to our bow, and it paid off."

What also paid off was giving the captaincy to Warner. In their first two seasons, SRH changed the skipper midway, switching from Kumar Sangakkara to Cameron White in 2013 and from Shikhar Dhawan to Darren Sammy in 2014. They realised they needed stability in leadership, and for the long-term. A hot-headed, brash Warner was handed over the reins, who transformed himself and his team within a span of two seasons.

"It's not about me, it's about the team. I've said this from the start. It takes the team to win a tournament and the success that we have now goes down to all the support that the team gets. And that's from off the field, that's from the boss, the chairman, his wife, the support staff, the players that don't play and the 11 players that walk out on the field. That's everyone's job. And it comes down to team effort. It's a family out there," Warner said.

It's a family that took some time in the making. But as they say, good things come to those who wait. SRH would agree.