T.Natarajan

South African middle-order batter Markram was a rising star when the IPL scouts took note of him and the Punjab Kings asked him to become a replacement for their English batter, Dawid Malan, in 2021.

Although, by this time, the tournament had reached the business end, the South African got a chance to play six games where he scored 146 runs with an individual highest of 42.

It was in 2022 that Sunrisers Hyderabad paid him INR 2.6 crore, and he repaid the faith shown in him with a run tally of 381 runs, which had three fifties.

He was named the new skipper for the 2023 season as Kane Williamson left for the Gujarat Titans, but Hyderabad finished last. His personal form also dipped, as he scored just 248 runs.

The franchise has retained him for the 2024 season, but with Pat Cummins’s availability, Markram is bound to lose his leadership position.