Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise SunRisers Hyderabad are expected to change captains before the 2024 edition, Cricbuzz said in a report. The 17th edition of IPL will start on March 22. Ahead of the tournament, Aiden Markram, who led SRH in 2023, is expected to be sacked as captain, with Australian captain Pat Cummins replacing him in the role, the report said. It is worth noting that under Cummins' captaincy, Australia defeated India in both the World Test Championship final and the Cricket World Cup final last year.
If this report turns out to be true, it would mark another major change in captaincy in IPL. In December last year, five-time champions Mumbai Indians had replaced Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya in the captaincy role.
Former New Zealand left-arm pacer James Franklin is likely to replace Dale Steyn as the bowling coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the upcoming IPL, which starts on March 22.
Steyn, a former South African fast bowler, who took over as SRH bowling coach in 2022, has requested the franchise to give him a break this season citing personal reasons.
“We are in talks with him (Franklin) as Dale Steyn will not be available this season,” an IPL source told PTI on condition of anonymity.
The 43-year-old previously played for Mumbai Indians in the 2011 and 2021 seasons, but this is his first stint as a coach in the IPL.
However, Franklin has coaching experience with Durham in English county cricket and Pakistani Super League team Islamabad United as an assistant coach.
At SRH, Franklin will work with his former teammate Daniel Vettori, who was appointed as the team's head coach after IPL 2023.
They previously worked together with Middlesex in county cricket and with Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred.
Franklin played 31 Tests, 110 ODIs and 38 T20Is for New Zealand between 2001 and 2013.
(With PTI inputs)
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