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Pat Cummins To Captain, No Place For Aiden Markram; SRH’s Strongest XI For IPL 2024

Pat Cummins will replace Markram as SRH captain (X.com)Pat Cummins will replace Markram as SRH captain (X.com)

Tables have turned quickly in Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) camp as Pat Cummins has been announced as the new captain of the Orange Army, replacing two-time SA20 League winning skipper Aiden Markram.

Markram had a disastrous IPL campaign last year, having won four out of 14 matches, leading them to finish at the bottom of the points table. In fact, they were eighth twice before that edition, meaning that they were not in a great position lately.

Therefore, Cummins, the reigning ODI World Cup-winning captain who also won the World Test Championship (WTC) in the same year, has a tough job in hand. Not to forget, they qualified for the playoffs five times on the trot between 2016 and 2020 under the leadership of Cummins' long-standing friend David Warner and Kiwi superstar Kane Williamson.

The decision is not as surprising as it seems, to be honest. SRH invested heavily in Cummins, having spent a hefty fee of INR 20.5 crore to snatch him away from the RCB in the latest auction.

Now, what will be the combination of SRH, given that they have too many prolific overseas options who can make a significant impact on their days? Let’s start with the openers. Travis Head, Cummins’ most trusted warrior, will be at the top, and Abhishek Sharma, the rising superstar in India’s domestic circuit, will partner him.

Now the question is who will come at No. 3, and the options they have are Mayank Agarwal and Rahul Tripathi. Even though this is a tough call to make, Tripathi should get a nod ahead of Mayank, given the former’s swashbuckling natural batting technique.

Heinrich Klaasen, the beast incarnate of cricket, will be promoted to No. 4 to keep on going, ahead of Abdul Samad and Washington Sundar, if not Shahbaz Ahmed. Pat Cummins will come next, and Wanindu Hasaranga, the man who should replace Markram to keep the playing XI balance intact, is expected to follow him.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik and Mayank Markande are likely to be their designated bowling options, with T Natarajan playing as an impact sub.


Sunrisers Hyderabad's Strongest Playing XI For IPL 2024


Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), Abdul Samad, Washington Sundar/ Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (C), Wanindu Hasaranga, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, Mayank Markande, T. Natarajan (Impact Sub)

However, let’s not forget how Markram’s batting was terribly hampered by his captaincy responsibilities last time. Hence, it may even be possible that Markram will keep his place, and Hasaranga will be on the sidelines. 

That also means the place for Marco Jansen, who was one of the most reliable all-rounders under Markram’s captaincy in IPL 2023, will be in danger, and so are, Glenn Phillips and Fazalhaq Farooqi among many others.

Sunrisers Hyderabad's Probable Playing XI For IPL 2024

Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi/Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), Abdul Samad, Pat Cummins (C), Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, Mayank Markande, T. Natarajan (Impact Sub)