Aiden Markram will be tested as captain in IPL: Virender Sehwag

Ahead of the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League, Sunrisers Hyderabad released Kane Williamson and instead appointed Aiden Markram as the new leader. Markram proved his mettle as a captain and helped Sunrisers Eastern Cape win the trophy in the inaugural edition of the SA20 league. However, former India batter Virender Sehwag believes that his captaincy will be put to test in the Indian Premier League.

Sehwag believes that the player will be under pressure since he will be leading for the first time in the tournament. He also pointed out that there are many match-winners in the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad at the moment but the recipe to victory is to play as a unit.

“Aiden Markram will be tested as captain as he will be leading in the IPL for the first time. He has won the T20 league in South Africa, but this could be a different test. They have many match-winners in their team, but the key is to ensure they play together as a unit,” the 44-year-old said while talking to Cricbuzz.

Not sure how much Markram knows about the domestic players: Rajat Bhatia

Former all-rounder Rajat Bhatia, meanwhile, stated that overseas skippers always find it difficult to understand the local cricketers of India. He mentioned that the role of the coaching unit will be extremely difficult if Markram faces any sort of difficulty in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of domestic Indian cricketers.

“Whenever an overseas player captains an IPL team, he doesn't have a lot of idea about the domestic players. Now, Markram is directly coming to play a game. So not sure how much he knows about the domestic players. The information that the team management gives him now will be crucial,” Bhatia said.

Notably, in his first assignment as a captain in the IPL, Markram will face a tough challenge from Lucknow Super Giants. The KL Rahul-led side has managed to win their opening game of the season against Delhi Capitals but lost to Chennai Super Kings in their last match. Thus, they will be charged up to register their second win of the season against Markram's SRH.

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