Mo's compelling case in selection dilemma

NSW captain Moises Henriques is in the form of his life with the bat but the allrounder remains part of a delicate selection balancing act for Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of tonight's clash with Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. 

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With Hyderabad two wins from three and Henriques missing their last-start defeat to Mumbai, Australia pair Tom Moody (coach) and David Warner (captain) have a dilemma on their hands as to how to best fit their overseas stars in their XI. 

Warner, the record holder for the most runs by an overseas batsman in IPL history, is first man picked at the top of the order. 

But beyond that, the waters are muddied.

Afghanistan's leg-spin sensation Rashid Khan has turned heads in his maiden season, claiming six wickets in three matches with an economy rate of 6.16. 

Bangladesh limited-overs star Mustafizur Rahman made a name for himself at last year's tournament, with 17 wickets in 16 matches, and having missed the first two matches before he was granted approval by his national cricket board to play in the tournament, looks likely to feature in Moody's plans moving forward.  

That leaves Brisbane Heat allrounder Ben Cutting, who brings more than Henriques with the ball (though he is yet to take a wicket in three matches to date), often contributes handy cameos with the bat, and was player of the match in last year's final to underline his value to the side. 

Henriques' batting streak however, is difficult to ignore. 

After making 64 for Sydney Sixers in the KFC Big Bash semi-final against Brisbane Heat to take his side to a Super Over - which he then dominated with 18no - he made 21 in a losing cause in the final, but in the 10 innings since, he's been remarkably consistent. 

A fine 51 against the Vics in the Sheffield Shield was followed by a career-best 265 - a knock that took Henriques' batting to new heights after they'd plummeted to the depths of a disastrous Sri Lanka tour just six months earlier. 

His trips to the middle for Australia's Test, ODI and T20 squads in five matches yielded returns of 4, 4, 6, 4 and 1 across the three formats for a sum total of 19 runs at 3.80.

After his massive double-century however, Henriques hasn't looked back, stringing together the following eight scores - 17, 56no, 2no, 47, 54, 66, 52, 52no - before he was forced to sit on the sidelines with illness on Wednesday night. 

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In total, Henriques has tallied 712 runs from his past 10 innings, at the Bradmanesque average of 101.71. 

The right-hander made key contributions to the Sunrisers' opening two wins, helping the defending champions pick up where they left off in 2016 via a pair of quick-fire half-centuries. 

Henriques earned serious praise from opposing captain Brendon McCullum following the Sixers' semi-final win over the Heat in late January. 

"He's played a lot of cricket now, he's an experienced guy," McCullum said. "With bat, ball and in the field he's composed – he understands what the game's about.

"And he's been through the mill a little bit as well; he's been talked up a lot as an international player and he's gone through a tough period.  

"I think he's come through the other side and he's maturing as a cricketer."

IPL 2017 has already had its share of surprise axings - with both Chris Gayle and Shane Watson missing matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore - and it seems whichever way Moody goes for the make-up of the Sunrisers XI, another big selection call is set to be made.