'Aiden Markram Will be Tested as Captain,' Says Virender Sehwag

image-lg6n8weqMarkram will be leading SRH for the first time vs LSG (AP Photo)

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag believes that the newly crowned SunRisers Hyderabad skipper Aiden Markram will be tested during his stint of leading an IPL team.

Markram was appointed captain of the 2016 champions ahead of the 2023 season, but the Proteas batter missed his side's tournament opener (vs Rajasthan Royals) due to international commitments.

Markram will make his IPL captaincy debut against the Lucknow SuperGiants on Friday evening.

Speaking to CricBuzz, Sehwag said that overseas captains find it hard to lead in the IPL as they are mostly unaware of the domestic talent that they have in their squad.

The former swashbuckler believes that the Proteas T20 captain is in for testing times.

Here's what Virender Sehwag said:

"Aiden Markram will be tested as captain as he will be leading in the IPL for the first time. He has won the T20 league in South Africa, but this could be a different test. They have many match-winners in their team, but the key is to ensure they play together as a unit."

"Whenever an overseas player captains an IPL team, he doesn't have a lot of idea about the domestic players. Now Markram is directly coming to play a game. So not sure how much he knows about the domestic players. The information that the team management gives him now will be crucial," Markram added.

Although Markram has never led an IPL franchise in the past, he has plenty of captaincy experience. The right-hander first shot into prominence when he led the South African U19 team to World Cup glory in 2014.

Earlier this year, he also led the SunRisers Eastern Cape to their maiden SA20 title win, where he led from the front with the bat.

Markram, and the SRH management , will hope for similar results in the ongoing IPL.