When Sunrisers Hyderabad take the field next March for the IPL 2024 edition, they will face the dilemma of who should be their captain for the new season, Pat Cummins or Aiden Markram. While debates would go on and on around this issue, former South African explosive batsman Ab De Villiers believes that it is not even a topic of debate.
For him the choice is easy. When asked who should lead SRH in IPL 2024, De Villiers backed his former South Africa teammate Aiden Markram to continue as captain despite Hyderabad breaking the bank for World Cup-winning skipper Pat Cummins of Australia 2023. The Orange Army boss, coached by Daniel Vettori, relentlessly pursued the Australian right-arm pacer and spent Rs 20.50 crore for the player, making him the most expensive player so far. Kolkata Knight Riders paid Rs 24.75 crore for Mitchell Starc.
Now, as soon as SRH bought Cummins, debates arose on who should lead the group next season and who should be trusted to guide the star-studded team to its second IPL trophy. Apart from Cummins, SRH bought 2023 World Cup final centurion Travis Head for Rs 6.80 crore, Sri Lanka all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga for Rs 1.5 crore, left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat for 1.60 crores, Akash Singh and Jhathavedh Subramanyan for 20 lakhs respectively.
On paper, SRH have a very strong squad at their disposal filled with several talented players. With their core unit intact, SRH will just have to find the right combinations by integrating the newly purchased players into the team. Last season, Sunrisers Hyderabad finished at the bottom of the points table under Markram’s captaincy, winning 4 matches and losing 10.
They will look to change the scenario this year and with their acquisitions they could finish in the top 4 for the first time since 2020.
“I will continue to go with Aiden Markram as captain,” says Ab De Villiers
On the captaincy debate, Ab De Villiers has made it clear that Aiden Markram will do well as captain of SRH this season. De Villiers believes his former team-mate has what it takes to become a true leader and with the kind of team Markram will have under him, SRH could make it all the way to the play-offs.
“I will continue with Aiden Markram as captain. I’ve played with this guy before. He has a very, very good leadership brain in his head. I think he’ll do better this season and that’s it. And also. And he has a very good team to work with.” – said De Villiers.
He also shared his opinion on the Sunrisers facing a problem with having such a star-studded team, stating that Hyderabad has a very balanced team. “I don’t think the eight foreign players you’re talking about being big stars are a problem. I think they have a very, very good, very balanced squad. I think they will get the knockouts this year. I want my calls to go all the way and be at the end of the IPL.” – concluded De Villiers.
SRH full squad for IPL 2024: Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram (c), Marco Jansen, Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Sanvir Singh, Heinrich Klaasen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Agarwal, T. Natarajan, Anmolpreet Singh , Mayank Markande, Upendra Singh Yadav, Umran Malik, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Shahbaz Ahmed, Travis Head, Wanindu Hasaranga, Pat Cummins, Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh, Jhathavedh Subramanyan.
