The man who was destined to be a captain at some point or another after leading his country to their maiden World Cup glory and his franchise team towards a title in the inaugural season Yes, we are talking about none other than Aiden Markram. The tall, right-handed batter who led South Africa to hold the silverware in the U19 CWC in 2014 and the Sunrisers Eastern Cape as title winners of the SA20 league
After an outstanding season as a skipper in the inaugural season of the SA T20 league, the owners of the Sunrisers didn’t take too long to appoint the destined captain to take over the reins as captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League 2023. After consecutive years of shocking sell-offs in the form of David Warner in 2022 and Kane Williamson in 2023. The not so calculated team management of the Sunrisers entrusted Aiden Markram to lead the baton for SRH with an aim to replicate his golden year in the IPL. And the team management has not just changed two captains in two years but has completely eradicated them from their team sheets. So, leading into the third season of a new captain, one can probably say "No Pressure" as such, Mr. Markram.
Did SRH explore all the captainship options?
In a span of two months, Markram has won a T20 title as captain for his domestic franchise, won bragging rights to become skipper of the South African National T20 team, and is the flag bearer in the IPL too. So, without a shadow of a doubt, to begin with, if not anything else, Markram would definitely bring his MIDAS touch of 2023 to the table. In the current SRH squad, only Mayank Agarwal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have the experience of leading the team in the IPL. After a pretty awful debut season as skipper for the Punjab Kings, Mayank Agarwal was released from the Punjab Kings squad only to be drafted into the SRH squad. The SRH captaincy conundrum seemed to have settled a bit with Mayank’s inclusion. Then came the South African T20 league. Markram winning the title with Sunrisers Eastern Cape in 2023 was an unexpected climax, much like an Alfred Hitchcock movie. With both the experienced players, Mayank and Bhuvi, reaching the twilight of their careers, SRH management’s decision to back Markram was made easier.
What does Markram bring to the table?
The third-highest run scorer of the SA T20 league, Aiden Markram, scored 366 runs at an average of 33.27 for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape. Though Markram had the lowest strike rate (127.97) amongst all the top five run scorers in the SA T20 league, the stability is exactly what SRH needs from Markram. Given the power-packed batting lineup this year, reassurance comes in the form of the man of the year in 2022, Harry Brook. Followed by Glenn Phillips, Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klaasen, Rahul Tripathy, and Abhishek Sharma. Literally every possible batter in their top six can go bonkers from ball one. In an age of attacking the batters from either side of the pavilion, SRH’s lineup needs a stable, sheet anchor player. Markram, who has played 18 IPL innings, has scored 527 runs with an average of 40.54. Followed up by a more than decent strike rate of 134.10. And that is what SRH needs, and that is exactly what Aiden Markram can bring to the table, if he promotes himself up the order.
Markram, the captain, led from the front in both crunch matches for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape. Scoring a match-winning 100* in the finals on just 58 deliveries, taking his team to an above-par score of 213-5. Markram then doubled it up by playing 19 balls and 26 runs in cameo innings in the finals to help SEC chase a mediocre score of 136 runs. What stood out apart from Markram’s batting was how he marshalled his troops and made strategic bowling changes, which is an art in T20 cricket. Rob Walter, the new white ball coach of SA, was all but pleased with Markram’s captaincy in the final One Day International (ODI) against the West Indies on Tuesday, March 21. "I thought he did a very good job, and it’s not surprising. I’m fully aware of his leadership capabilities, and I thought he marshalled the troops quite nicely," added Walter. "He made some good tactical decisions around bowling changes, which was good to see, so I’m just looking for more of the same."
Markram, who has played as a player under Faf Du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Temba Bavuma, and Heinrich Klaasen in South African colours and under KL Rahul and Kane Williamson in the IPL, has found an inspiring leader in Faf Du Plessis out of all the captains. "How Faf managed to marshal his troops was something I really looked up to and something I strive to become. I’ve learned a lot from him, probably without his knowing it, just by observing from the side," Markram said. "The years of being in this environment have helped. We’ve had some great leaders around, so to sponge information off of them and see how they operate has also shaped the way I am starting to think as well."
Can SRH be the dark horse under Markram?
A successful captain who led his national team to win their first ever ICC trophy as an Under-19 captain always highlights the signs of a promising leader in Markram. Markram was then entrusted to manage the troops in the absence of Faf Du Plessis in the ODI series against India in 2017–18. Everything went against Markram, right from the toss to the match, as the Proteas were humiliated 5-1 on their home turf by the Indians. With Markram being appointed as the SRH captain and the SA T20 team captain, the tide of luck definitely seems to be in favour of the Cape Town lad. However, captaining in the South African Twenty20 League and the IPL will be a totally different ballgame all together, with international giants and Indian domestic biggies under the same roof and the alien conditions to act as the devil’s advocate for Markram. Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on Rajasthan Royals in their first match of the IPL 2023 campaign on April 2, 2023, at their home stadium, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Only time will tell whether Markram’s appointment as captain was a masterstroke or just another uncalculated decision from the SRH management.