(Cricket News) In lieu of Aiden Markram, who captained the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad in the 2023 season, Pat Cummins has been named captain for the 2024 Indian Premier League.

Although Cummins has never captained a team in the IPL or even in elite T20 cricket, his appointment follows a fruitful stint as Australia’s captain, where he guided his team to triumph in both the 2023 ODI World Cup and the World Test Championship, both of which they won against India in the finals.

With Cummins filling in as the foreign fast bowler, SRH will now have the option to play their new recruits, Australian batsman Travis Head and Sri Lankan legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga, along with finisher Heinrich Klaasen, in place of Markram, should they so choose. The other two overseas quicks in the team are Fazalhaq Farooqi of Afghanistan and Marco Jansen of South Africa. Glenn Phillips of New Zealand completes the team’s eight overseas players.

After three seasons, Cummins will be the third captain of the SRH. Before being let go ahead of the 2023 season, when SRH finished bottom with just four wins in 14 league games under Markram’s captaincy, Kane Williamson had led them to an eighth-place finish in 2022.

Markram is still a member of the SRH team for the following season despite his IPL 2023 performance of just 248 runs at a strike rate of 129. In 2022 and 2023, Markram guided the Sunrisers Eastern Cape team to consecutive championships in the SA20, Cricket South Africa’s T20 league.

James Franklin, a former all-arounder from New Zealand, took Dale Steyn’s position as SRH’s bowling coach. On March 23, SRH takes on Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens to start their IPL 2024 campaign. On March 27, they play Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad.

See more: Cameron Green Opts Out of Pakistan White Ball Series for India Tests.