SRH skipper Aiden Markram. (PTI) Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Aiden Markram has accepted that constant chopping and changing has hurt his side despite having one of the most balanced squads. Coming into the tournament with a bright prospect of making it to the playoffs, the franchise has underperformed massively in the first half of the season and has only two wins from seven matches.
“It’s been a difficult one. Because we’ve had a solid pool of player,” Markram said “Constant chopping and changes has also hurt us. Hopefully, in the last seven games, we will find the right balance in terms of the players and the combinations will turn around our season, starting from Saturday,” said Markram on the eve of their match against Delhi Capitals.
“We’re trying to free guys up and get them to express themselves as best as they can. So I felt we were slightly conservative with our approach,” said Markram who took over as captain this season.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Washington Sundar plays a shot during the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals, in Hyderabad, India, Monday, April 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)To make it all the more challenging, all-rounder Washington Sundar was on Thursday ruled out of the remaining matches due to a hamstring injury, dealing a big blow to the struggling team. The 23-year-old all-rounder has played seven matches so far and picked up three wickets at an average of 48.66 and an economy of 8.26. With the bat, he managed 60 runs with a highest score of 24 not out at an average of 15 and a strike rate of 100.
The Tamil Nadu player had also faced injury during the last IPL, suffering split webbing in his bowling hand. Markram said he has no clue about Washington’s replacement.
“In terms of replacement, I’ve not been involved in any of those, so I’m not too sure what’s happening regarding that. But it’s a massive loss, we all know the quality of Washi and the experience he brings. It’s not very easy to just replace a player like him but you still have to be confident in the players that we have in our squad and give them a fair chance,” he said.
Sunrisers are currently languishing at the ninth spot in the 10-team standings with two wins and five losses out of the seven matches they have played so far.
“Every match from now onwards is an eliminator for us. We’re in this position because we haven’t played best cricket as a team and going forward, we need to improve massively in all the three departments and play a good brand of cricket,” he said.
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