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South Africa batter Aiden Markram has been named the captain for Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of IPL 2023 as announced by the franchise on Thursday.
The 28-year-old Protea is not new to the leadership role having led the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the inaugural SA20 title earlier this month. He played a crucial role in the side's SA20 triumph, ending the season as the third-highest run-scorer. During his time as Eastern Cape's captain, Markram demonstrated his versatility as a multi-faceted player and a captain. Markram scored 369 runs at a strike rate of 127, including a century, and claimed 11 wickets with his part-time off-spin at an impressive economy of 6.19. Sunrisers had to decide on the leadership role after releasing New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson prior to the IPL mini-auction in December last year. The batter struggled for form in the 2022 IPL and scored 216 runs in his 13 innings. India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar who has been with the franchise since its inception and opener Mayank Agarwal who last captained Punjab Kings were also in the reckoning for the top job. Mayank Agarwal was secured by the franchise for INR 8.25 crore However, the Sunrisers Hyderabad management went ahead with Markram given his success in the SA20 league. In December last year, the management named West Indies legend Brian Lara as the head coach ahead of the IPL auction. They made some big purchases in the auction with Harry Brook being the heftiest buy. Brook was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season in 2023 for INR 13.25 crore. Indian Premier League 2023 is set to begin on March 31 with a clash between heavyweights Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT). The T20 cricket extravaganza will be played across 12 venues with the Narendra Modi Stadium hosting the opener on March 31 and the final of the tournament will be played on May 28 at the same venue in Ahmedabad. In total 12 venues - Mohali, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur, Mumbai, Guwahati (Royals' second home) and Dharamsala (Kings' second home) will host the IPL 2023 matches. IPL 2023 will see teams being divided into two groups - Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants in Group A while Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans are in Group B. (ANI)
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