India and Rajasthan Royals (RR) off-spinner R Ashwin expressed his surprise at the decision of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to replace Aiden Markram with Pat Cummins as their captain ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024).
In the IPL 2024 mini-auction, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) acquired Cummins’ services for a whopping INR 20.50 crore. And a few weeks ago, the Australian skipper replaced Markram as the SRH captain.
India and Rajasthan RoyAshwin said that he was taken aback by the change in SRH’s leadership.
Ashwin argued that SRH should have retained Markram as their skipper, especially considering his success in leading the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to consecutive titles in the SA20, whereas Cummins has not yet led a T20 team, but has a great record in Test and ODI cricket.
R Ashwin said on his YouTube channel: “Sunrisers have hit two titles back-to-back at the SA20. They’ve done it with two extraordinary teams. I was quite shocked, actually. They have made Pat Cummins the captain. I was having a small hunch that they would go with Markram.”
The RR star further said, “Markram had an extraordinary season for his franchise in the SA20. The cross-pollination would have been amazing.”
Ashwin also pointed out that SRH need to carefully consider their team composition, especially with the presence of several prominent players like Travis Head, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Fazalhaq Farooqi in their squad.
The Indian star explained, “Pat Cummins is a no-brainer. But with Cummins as a captain, they will have a problem of plenty in the team with so many stars. Keeping Travis Head as backup, they would go for Markram, Pat Cummins, (Heinrich) Klaasen, and (Wanindu) Hasaranga.”
Ashwin signed off by saying, “Because Hasaranga is a crucial facet for them. If they decide Hasaranga is not needed, in some venues they can play (Fazalhaq) Farooqi or Marco Jansen instead of him. This is what I thought because it makes sense.
