IPL 2023: Kaviya Maran-Owned Sunrisers Hyderabad to Announce new Captain, will it be Mayank Agarwal or Aiden Markram

The Sunrisers Hyderabad are currently the only franchise in Indian Premier League without a captain, although Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant is injured. Finally the fan’s wait will be over on Thursday (February 23), as Kaviya Maran-owned team are set to announce their new captain for the upcoming IPL 2023 season which gets underway on March 31.

SRH’s captain in IPL 2022 – Kane Williamson – wasn’t retained by the franchise nor was a bought at the IPL 2023 auction. There is speculation that South African batter Aiden Markram or former Punjab Kings skipper Mayank Agarwal could be picked as the new skipper.

ARE YOU READY #OrangeArmy? #IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/oXygnjWG1q — SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) February 22, 2023

Markram was the captain of Sun Group-owned Sunrisers Eastern Cape and led them to the inaugural SA20 title as well. The South African notched up 381 runs in IPL 2022 at an average of 47.63 with a strike-rate of over 139 with three fifties.

Karnataka opener Mayank Agarwal, on the other hand, was released by Punjab Kings after a less than impressive stint as their captain replacing KL Rahul in 2022. He was bought for Rs 8.25 crore in IPL 2023 auction and many believe that SRH look at him as a skipper. He has been in sensational form in Ranji Trophy off late, scoring a brilliant double century against Saurashtra in the knockout stages as well.

However, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes that SRH shouldn’t look at Agarwal as the new skipper. “If it was left to me, I wouldn’t got to Mayank Agarwal,” Manjrekar told Star Sport ahead of SRH captaincy announcement.

With Hyderabad set to announce their captain tomorrow, #SanjayManjrekar gives his views on Mayank Agarwal.#IPLonStar pic.twitter.com/DeH5N85ouH — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 22, 2023

Another former India cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar could be a good choice for next SRH skipper. “My vote is for Bhuvi. But with the success of #SEC, there’s a very strong case for Markram to become the leader,” Chopra replied to a fan on Twitter.

My vote is for Bhuvi. But with the success of #SEC, there's a very strong case for Markram to become the leader. https://t.co/fCttPpb6xd

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 22, 2023

It remains to be seen who will be picked as the next captain of SRH for the IPL 2023 season.

Sunrisers Hyderabad 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