Aiden Markram, a South African batsman, has been named the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) team’s new captain for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season. Kane Williamson, a former captain of New Zealand who was released by the team during the previous season, is replaced by Markram.
The South African player was also a member of the Sunrisers Eastern Cape team, owned by the Sun Group, which won the inaugural SA20 T20 League earlier this month. There were rumors that Mayank Agarwal, who SRH paid Rs 8.5 crore for, would also be in the running, but Markram beat over the former batter for the Punjab Kings.
On Thursday, February 23, early in the morning, the SRH franchise posted the statement to their social media accounts. Sunrisers paid INR 2.6 crore to buy Markram at the 2022 auction. In IPL 2022, the South African scored 381 runs at an average of 47.63, a strike rate of over 139, and three fifty-plus scores.
With 366 runs from 12 games at an average of 33.27 and 150 runs in the competition, Markram finished third in the SA20 league. In the competition’s finale, Markram’s Sunrisers Eastern Cape defeated Pretoria Capitals. By leading Eastern Cape in the SA20, Markram showed that he could succeed as a captain and a hitter. Along with scoring a century, Markram took 11 wickets at a 6.19 economy rate.
SRH captaincy options for IPL 2023
It’s interesting that SRH had a lot of options for the leadership position, with their newest hire Mayank Agarwal emerging as a possible contender. Punjab Kings had been captained by Mayank during the previous season of the tournament, but SRH stuck with Markram.
The side was captained by Kane Williamson in the 2022 season but released the New Zealand star ahead of the auction for this year’s event.
Many fans believed Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had led the Sunrisers in a few matches during his stint with the Hyderabad franchise, would be given consideration for the position.
In the first season of the SA20 League, Markram had led the SRH to victory over the Sunrisers Eastern Cape team. On April 2, the Sunrisers will take on the Rajasthan Royals in their IPL debut.
SRH squad for IPL 2023
Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, Harry Brook, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Anmolpreet Singh, Akeal Hosein, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kartik Tyagi, Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klaasen, Adil Rashid, Mayank Markande, Vivrant Sharma, Samarth Vyas, Sanvir Singh, Upendra Yadav, Mayank Dagar
Also Read: IPL 2023 Ticket Booking: Price, Link, When To Buy IPL 2023 Tickets Online
