Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will be without the services of their regular captain Kane Williamson for their last league stage fixture against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Sunday (May 22). The opening batter returned home earlier this week for the birth of his second child. From NZ, Williamson will fly to England for the three-match Test series against the hosts.
In Williamson’s absence, SRH will have a new captain. While there are a few players who can lead SRH, Nicholas Pooran and Bhuvneshwar Kumar seem to be the frontrunner to do the job. Pooran seems to have the team management’s backing as the franchise spent Rs 10.75 crore on him. He was recently named West Indies’ full-time white-ball captain.
On the other hand, Bhuvneshwar has been part of SRH’s leadership group and has also captained the Orange Army in 6 matches. He was Shikhar Dhawan’s deputy during the Sri Lanka tour in 2021 and has been part of the leadership group at the national level.
The franchise hasn’t announced Williamson’s replacement and the fans will have to wait till the toss to know who leads the team. Before the fixture, Daniel Vettori has named the ‘best choice’ to captain SRH. As per the former RCB captain and coach, Bhuvneshwar should replace Williamson for the fixture.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, the NZ legend said: “I think Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the obvious and right choice because he has done it before, because he is a Sunrisers legend, because he is bowling so well. I think he’ll understand the Sunrisers bowling attack better than anyone else could, so therefore it is right if he takes over.”
The league stage fixture is a dead rubber for both the teams as they have crashed out of the season. SRH have 6 wins from 13 matches and sit at the 8th spot. PBKS also have the same number of wins and are placed above the Orange Army. The winner of today’s tie will finish at the 6th spot in the points table.
