In a disappointing development for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, the team’s new captain Aiden Markram will miss the team’s first match of IPL 2023. Markram will be busy playing for the South African cricket team in an ICC Cricket World Cup Super League series against the Netherlands cricket team during the first week of April.
Hence, he and the rest of the South African players participating in IPL 2023, will join their respective franchises by April 3. All teams would have played at least one match by then. Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad are the only two franchises with a South African skipper in IPL 2023.
While RCB captain Faf du Plessis is no longer a member of South Africa’s ODI squad, Aiden Markram is a main player. Here are three players who can lead the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the absence of Markram during their first match against the Rajasthan Royals.
1. Bhuvneshwar Kumar can captain SRH in the absence of Aiden Markram
The most likely candidate to captain the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their first match is the team’s veteran pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He has a lot of IPL and international experience under his belt, which is why he can lead the team well. Kumar has also captained SRH in the past when the regular captain was unavailable.
2. Mayank Agarwal can captain SRH in the absence of Aiden Markram
Another player who could lead the Orange Army in their match against the Rajasthan Royals is Mayank Agarwal. The star Indian batter captained the Punjab Kings in IPL 2022. He did a decent job as a captain. Hence, the Hyderabad-based franchise can think of assigning him the team’s reins for the first match.
3. Washington Sundar
An out of the box candidate for this role can be Washington Sundar. The off-spin bowling all-rounder joined SRH last season. He has a good cricketing brain as well and can lead the franchise.
