Former South Africa national cricket team and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batsman AB de Villiers has expressed his disappointment over the dismissal of Aiden Markram as captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 .
Under Markram’s leadership, the Hyderabad-based franchise performed poorly in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. They finished in last place and won only 4 matches in the T20 league.
After a disappointing season, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) entered the auction with an eye on the new skipper and spent a whopping Rs 20.50 crore to acquire the services of Australian captain Pat Cummins.
Pat Cummins had a golden year as captain of the Australia National Cricket Team in 2023 as he retained the Ashes bowl and led his team to victory in the ICC World Test Championship final and World Cup final. of ICC Men’s Cricket 2023. He also won the ICC Cricketer of the Year 2023 award.
Even though Pat Cummins did not have good T20 and IPL numbers, Sunrisers Hyderabad decided to make him captain and remove Aiden Markram, who led Sunrisers Eastern Cape to consecutive title wins in SA20.
The franchise has also faced criticism from various quarters for handing over leadership duties to Cummins, who is not Australia’s captain in the T20I format.
So it’s disappointing for me, for him and for all the South African fans – AB de Villiers on Aiden Markram’s dismissal
Talking about the removal of “fantastic captain” Markram as captain, AB de Villiers said that he is quite disappointed to see SRH change captain after a poor season. He elaborated:
“There are reasons for him (Pat Cummins) to be the captain of that team, although it is a little surprising to most people, maybe a little upsetting to me, to see Aiden Markram being moved and in a way he had to do something “. way for Pat Cummins there, even though Aiden Markram has won consecutive SA20 tournaments.
“I think he is a fantastic captain and they were just getting used to him as captain at SRH. So it is disappointing for me, for him and for all the South African fans, but if it is for the good of the SRH team, so be it,” he added.
The Proteas great further said that the appointment of Pat Cummins as captain has not come as a big surprise to him considering the presence of Daniel Vettori in the coaching staff. He also stated that Australian flavor is coming to the SRH set-up. He elaborated:
“It’s a big surprise, but not a big surprise for me, considering the participation of Daniel Vettori, who was with the Australian team. Additionally, we may see some involvement with Andrew McDonald. You see a bit of Australian flavor in the Sunrisers Hyderabad team.”
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 will begin on March 22 and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will be seen in action on March 23 when they take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens. in Calcutta.