SRH skipper Markram’s inability to explain Umran’s absence baffles experts

Sunrisers Hyderabad suffered yet another defeat on Thursday to remain at the bottom of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) table, getting handed an eight-wicket defeat by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their final home game of the season.

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While there were several shortcomings in SRH’s performance with ball and ball at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday, with Heinrich Klaasen’s blistering 104 off 51 balls the only bright spot, there were a few decisions taken by the team management that also raised quite a few eyebrows, including that of pacer Umran Malik’s exclusion from the XI.

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What raised even more eyebrows however, and led many to believe that all was not well in the ‘Orange Army’ was the fact that even skipper Aiden Markram did not have a definitive answer when it came to giving a reason for Malik’s absence from the playing XI.

“Not too sure to be honest. Certainly, he’s a player with the X factor, bowls at 150kph, but I don’t really what’s about behind the scenes but he has a lot of X factor,” Markram said during toss ahead of the match against RCB.

The answer did leave many a fan and expert scratching their head. Speaking on Cricbuzz, former India opener Virender Sehwag felt the Jammu and Kashmir quick’s exclusion from the team might be the result of a spat with the team leadership or the senior management.

“I truly did not understand what ‘behind the scene’ meant. It could be that he (Umran) had a fight with the management or maybe there was an argument, then that is bad.

“I think something similar was said by David Warner as well. This was the same language, only Markram put it in a better way,” Sehwag said.

Sehwag, however, also did not rule out the lack of solid performances with the ball as a possible factor. Malik, who had set the stage on fire last season with his fiery pace, proved expensive this season where he collected five wickets in seven games at an average and economy of 35.20 and 10.35 respectively.

“You were given an opportunity, you did not perform, now you have to wait until your next chance. You should shut the mouths with your performance,” Sehwag added.

Indian batting icon Sunil Gavaskar, meanwhile, felt that Markram was probably only following orders and that he did not have much of a say in the selection matters in his first season in charge of the ‘Orange Army’.

“Probably Markram genuinely doesn’t know why Umran has been dropped or he maybe told not to pick him. And when Markram has been provided with no reason then what else will he say,” Gavaskar said.

The Sunrisers, who had won the tournament in 2016 under David Warner’s leadership and finished runners-up two years later, failed to reach the playoffs for a third season in a row after a string of sub-par performances and inability to close the game out from tight situations. They face Mumbai Indians in their final game on Sunday at the Wankhede Stadium, and will be hoping to avoid a bottom-placed finish with a victory over the five-time champions.

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