"My personal vote was for Bhuvneshwar Kumar" - Aakash Chopra on SunRisers Hyderabad appointing Aiden Markram as captain
Aakash Chopra feels the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) should have appointed Bhuvneshwar Kumar as their skipper for IPL 2023 instead of Aiden Markram.
SRH released last season's skipper Kane Williamson ahead of the IPL 2023 auction. They opted not to reacquire him at the auction and recently named Markram as their skipper for the upcoming edition of the league.
Reflecting on the development in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that Bhuvneshwar Kumar might have been a better option as skipper, saying:
"Aiden Markram has become the SunRisers Hyderabad captain. They had two other options in the form of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mayank Agarwal. My personal vote was for Bhuvneshwar Kumar because he has been with this franchise for many years."
The former Indian opener pointed out that the veteran swing bowler captained SunRisers Hyderabad whenever Williamson was unavailable, observing:
"He is not playing cricket anywhere else, neither ODIs nor T20Is for India, so he will be available for the entire IPL season. Last year also, when Kane (Williamson) left in between, you made him the captain. He has been there for a very long time, my vote was in his favor."
However, Chopra concurred with the SunRisers Hyderabad's decision not to give the captaincy to Mayank Agarwal, reasoning:
"Mayank was the other option. What a player he is, I love him to bits, but considering the season he had as a batter and captain (for Punjab Kings) last year, you say you shouldn't trouble him too much and want him to just bat explosively at the start."
Chopra feels Bhuvneshwar Kumar not being given the leadership role implies that the franchise might not be thinking of playing him in all the matches. He highlighted that the franchise has a few other Indian seam-bowling options in Umran Malik, T Natarajan and Kartik Tyagi at their disposal.
"Against all odds, they just went and lifted the trophy" - Aakash Chopra on SEC's SA20 win probably swaying SunRisers Hyderabad's decision
Speaking about Aiden Markram, Aakash Chopra highlighted that the middle-order batter led the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the SA20 title against all odds, explaining:
"The team has gone towards Markram after their success in the SA20. He was the Sunrisers Eastern Cape captain and won them the trophy. The way they started the tournament, it seemed the team would not do anything. Against all odds, they just went and lifted the trophy."
He reckons Markram's all-round performances as a player and leader in the SA20 might have tempted the SunRisers Hyderabad management to make them their skipper in the IPL as well. The South African scored 365 runs and picked up 11 wickets in this year's SA20.
The reputed commentator observed:
"There Markram was a batter, bowler and captain. He was absolutely outstanding throughout the tournament. The team was not looking that good but they won in the end.
"The same Brian Lara and Co. were there. So they said they will make Markram the captain of their Indian franchise as well."
I would have pushed for Indian captain. I see two candidates already. #ipl #SRH
Chopra concluded by opining that Markram's appointment is good based on his recent form. However, he added that the franchise might be in trouble if the Proteas star goes through a bad patch during the tournament.