'They will go after Mayank Agarwal' - Irfan Pathan believes Sunrisers Hyderabad will aim to get India batter as their next leader

The IPL 2023 auction is just a few days away, and all ten franchises are gearing up to get the best of players in the squad. And the list of players in the auction is also not small. Hundreds of players will go under the hammer and the list includes many big names, both Indian and foreign players. One team which will be on the hunt for a new captain will be Sunrisers Hyderabad, who released Kane Williamson from their side.

The former IPL champions did not retain Williamson, and the Kiwi star will now be looking for a new franchise. With so many options emerging from the Indian unit, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan named an Indian batter who could be an ideal replacement of Williamson in SRH, and could lead the team well at the 16^th edition of the cash-rich event.

Mayank has led a side, plays quite freely as well, very fearless, very selfless: Pathan

Just like SRH, Punjab Kings also released their skipper Mayank Agarwal and Pathan feels that the opening batter would be an ideal choice for SRH not just as a captain, but also a fierce top-order batter.

“SRH will go after Mayank Agarwal because they need a kind of aggressive opener as well. They don’t have Kane Williamson right now who led them for many years as an experienced player and who used to open the innings as well. Mayank Agarwal is the kind of guy who has led a side, who plays quite freely as well, very fearless, very selfless. They might be thinking of him going forward as a leader as well,” Pathan shared his views on the Star Sports show Game Plan.

After releasing Agarwal, PBKS appointed India opener Shikhar Dhawan as their new leader. Having represented teams like the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Delhi Capitals (DC), and Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) before PBKS, Agarwal will feature in the first round of the IPL 2023 auction. The event is set to take place in Kochi on December 23, Friday, at 2:30 PM.