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Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are yet to announce their captain for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season. The two frontrunners for the top post are Mayank Agarwal who was picked for Rs 8.25 crore in the auction and their bowling spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar. With few months to go, South African batter Aiden Markram has thrown his hat for the role.
Markram is leading SRH's sister franchises in inaugural SA20 league. The 28-year-old led Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the final with a century in semifinal against Johannesburg Super Kings on February 9.
The top-order batter was asked about whether he would be interested in leading the IPL franchise which last won the title in 2016, he replied, "What’s going to happen, to be honest… either way we back the management's decision about who they want to be in charge."
"Becoming the captain is not the be all and end all. You can be in some form of leadership role too. But I am okay with captaincy, it's something that I enjoy doing.
"I have been captaining for a while before this tournament started. It's been a nice experience, a fresh start, I would say," he added.
The SA20 league final between Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Pretoria Capitals on February 11 got postponed after rain played spoilsport in Johannesburg.
Markram scored 381 runs from 14 innings for SRH in the previous season at an average of 47.43 including three half-centuries. He scored runs at a healthy strike rate of 139.05. The Proteas batter was picked for Rs 2.6 crore in the mega auction.
In the SA20 league, he is the fourth-highest run-scorer with 340 runs from 11 innings at an average of 34 including one fifty and one century.
On the other hand, Agarwal was not given a long rope as Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain and struggled with the bat as well in previous season. When he was picked in the auction, it was predicted by many that he will lead the SRH franchise.
Bhuvneshwar has led the Hyderabad-based franchise in Kane Williamson’s absence. However, he does not have a great record as under his captaincy SRH lost five out of seven games.
