IPL: South African batsman Aiden Markram became the captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad

Hyderabad, Feb 23, (Fast Mail News):-- Sunrisers Hyderabad has appointed South African batsman Aiden Markram as the captain of the team for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchisee gave the above information on Thursday.

Captaincy is nothing new for the 28-year-old Markram. Under his leadership, Sunrisers Eastern Cape won the inaugural SA20 title earlier this month. He was the third highest run scorer in the season.

During his time as captain of the Eastern Cape, Markram demonstrated his versatility as a multi-faceted player and as a captain. Markram scored 369 runs at a strike rate of 127, including a century. Apart from this, he took 11 wickets with his part-time off-spin at an impressive economy of 6.19.

Sunrisers were yet to decide on the leadership role after releasing New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson ahead of the IPL mini-auction in December last year. Williamson struggled for form in the 2022 IPL, scoring only 216 runs in his 13 innings.

Indian fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has been with the franchise since its inception, and opener Mayank Agarwal, who last captained Punjab Kings, were also in the running for the captaincy. The franchise bought Mayank Agarwal for Rs 8.25 crore. However, the Sunrisers Hyderabad management went with Markram considering his success in the SA20 league. 

Indian Premier League 2023 is starting from 31 March. In the first match of the league, Chennai Super Kings will face defending champions Gujarat Titans.

The league will be played across 12 venues, with the first match being played at the Narendra Modi Stadium on March 31 and the final of the tournament being played at the same venue in Ahmedabad on May 28.

The league will be played at a total of 12 venues including Mohali, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur, Mumbai, Guwahati (Royal's second home) and Dharamsala (Kings' second home).

The teams in IPL 2023 are divided into two groups. Group A features Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants, while Group B features Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans.