Bhuvneshwar Kumar is all set to lead Sunrisers Hyderabad against Rajasthan Royals in their IPL opener on April 2nd in Hyderabad.
ALSO READ
This is due to the absence of newly-appointed skipper Aiden Markram, who is committed to international cricket duties for South Africa.
Markram, who became SRH’s skipper before the season, is participating in South Africa’s two-match ODI series against the Netherlands, which begins on Thursday and concludes on April 2nd. He is set to arrive in India on April 3rd.
The Proteas are focusing on securing a direct qualification for the 2023 50-over World Cup in India, scheduled for October-November.
To achieve this, they must win both ODIs against the Netherlands (without over-rate penalties) and hope that Ireland loses at least one of their three ODIs against Bangladesh in England in May.
Only the top eight teams in the Super League standings will directly enter the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Presently, the Proteas are in ninth place with 78 points.
If they win both games against the Netherlands (each worth 10 points), they will surpass West Indies (currently in eighth place with 88 points) and position themselves well for direct qualification.
Bhuvneshwar has been with SRH since 2013 and has previously captained the team in six matches in 2019 and once in 2022, with two victories.
After finishing eighth in 2022, SRH restructured their squad, releasing then-captain Kane Williamson and appointing Markram.
Markram led Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the SA20 title and was named ‘Man of the Tournament,’ scoring 366 runs in 12 matches and taking 11 wickets with an economy rate of 6.19.
Besides Markram, Marco Jansen and Heinrich Klassen will be unavailable for the first match, leaving SRH with only five overseas options: Harry Brook, Glenn Phillips, Adil Rashid, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Akeal Hosein.
SRH will face Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow on April 7 for their second match.
2023 Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL Schedule Squad:
Aiden Markram (Captain), Abdul Samad, Mayank Agarwal, Anmolpreet Singh, Harry Brook, Nitish Reddy, Rahul Tripathi, Samarth Vyas, Sanvir Singh, Vivrant Sharma, Washington Sundar, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Glenn Phillips, Upendra Yadav, Akeal Hosein, Mayank Dagar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kartik Tyagi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, T Natarajan, Adil Rashid and Umran Malik
Get every cricket update! Follow us on
