Ahead of Sunrisers Hyderabad's next IPL 2024 game against Gujarat Titans, the former team captain Aiden Markram talked about Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Abhishek Sharma's contributions to the team's impressive run this season on Wednesday, May 15.
Sunrisers Hyderabad need a win in their remaining two league stage matches to secure a playoff qualification in the IPL 2024. Hyderabad recorded a dominant ten-wicket after chasing down a 166-run target inside ten overs against Lucknow in their last game with openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head smashing unbeaten fifties.
Markram highlighted the team's bowling performance this season and how it's tackling aggressive cricket in a 'calm and silent way'. He pointed out the veteran fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar leading the bowling unit and said it's proving excellent for the franchise over the years.
Bhuvneshwar, who has been part of SRH since IPL 2014, struggled for wickets earlier this season but has been excellent in the last few games. The right-arm medium pacer has taken 11 wickets at an economy rate of 9.13 this season and produced match-winning performances against Mumbai and Lucknow.
Markram, who is struggling to find a place in the playing eleven lately, praised Bhuvneshwar's impact as a leader and added that the Indian veteran has been fantastic to watch.
"I don't think Bhuvneshwar Kumar ever lost it, to be honest," Aiden Markram told PTI. "He sort of leads from the front in his own calm and silent way. It's been fantastic for us to watch.
"But the bowling unit as a whole has really confronted this challenge of the batters that's been happening this season with the scene of impact player. They found their own unique ways to try to keep the batters calm and also try to find ways to keep taking wickets. But definitely, someone like Bhuvi leading from the front, as he's done for many, many years, has been excellent for you."
Bhuvneswhar, 34, remains India's most successful T20I pace bowler with 90 wickets in 86 innings but last played international cricket in November 2022 and is unlikely to make a comeback to the national team.
