IPL in UAE: Careless whispers cause hilarity for Sunrisers Hyderabad in Dubai

Dubai: From ‘sushi’ to ‘khushi’ (happiness in Hindi) and from ‘text book’ to ‘cover drive’. Players from the Sunrisers Hyderabad got themselves embroiled in a few bonding moments during the course of their very own ‘Whisper Challenge’.

Held at the team’s special recreation room prepared by TCL India, the consumer electronics and technology brand, at the Anantara The Palm Dubai, the challenge saw the players get into the challenge by lip reading to guess the words.

The exercise threw up some amazing moments of laughter with the word “Gabbar” (the main villain from the Bollywood blockbuster movie ‘Sholay’) being guessed as ‘Kabbar’ (meaning ‘grave’ also in Hindi). Or for that matter, ace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar says: “I love sushi”, to which the guess given by the contestant is “I love Khushi”, sending the rest into ripples of laughter.

Based in Hyderabad, Telangana, the franchise is owned by Kalanithi Maran of the Sun TV Network and was founded in 2012 after the Hyderabad-based Deccan Chargers were terminated by the IPL. The team are captained by Australian David Warner and coached by fellow countryman Trevor Bayliss.

The team made their first IPL appearance in 2013, where they reached the play-offs, but went on to win their only title three years later in 2016 after beating the Royal Challengers Bangalore by eight runs in the final.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad have possibly one of the best bowling line-ups led by leading wicket-taker Bhuvneshwar Kumar, while Warner has been leading from the front after having won the Orange Cap on three occasions so far — in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

The Sunrisers are scheduled to take on Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore in their opener of the 2020 IPL at the Dubai Sports City stadium at 6pm on September 21.