London, Aug 3 (IANS) South Africa T20I captain Aiden Markram has played down speculation surrounding the vacant leadership position at Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), stating that he has not given captaining in the Indian Premier League (IPL) much thought and cited that the franchise possesses several ‘quality leaders.’
The leadership spot at LSG has been vacant after Rishabh Pant stepped down in May following the franchise finishing at the bottom of the points table in IPL 2026, before being traded to Delhi Capitals (DC) in exchange for left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
While Markram has extensive experience via leading the RPSG Group’s teams in the SA20 and The Hundred and is widely viewed as a frontrunner for the IPL leadership role, he insisted the decision rests entirely with management.
“I’ve got no idea. They can decide whatever they think is best. There’s some quality leaders in that group that we have there, so I’m not too fussed about it. Whoever gets it I’m sure will take it on and do a good job, but the thoughts haven’t been there just yet,” Markram was quoted as saying by Cricinfo on Monday.
Besides Markram, Australia’s T20I skipper Mitchell Marsh and former West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran are among the other prominent leadership options in the existing LSG squad. The franchise could also explore options in this year’s IPL mini-auction.
Markram also spoke about his experience of captaining in the 100-ball format and credited England white-ball veteran Jos Buttler for his support. “It comes with its challenges, but it’s been awesome. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. It obviously helps a lot to have guys like Jos (Buttler) around. He’s helped me quite a bit.
“It’s obviously much quicker, and still the idea of 10 balls from one side (is a challenge). You sometimes think you’ve snuck five in, and you remember there’s still another five to the short side, or whatever it might be. But good fun, great comp, great standard as well, so I’m thoroughly enjoying it,” he added.
On the personal front, Markram snapped a run of low scores with a half-century on Sunday, though it came in a losing cause. “I’ve struggled, but tonight was a bit better. The wicket was obviously good, and when you come across a good wicket and you’re maybe struggling for runs, you get a bit excited, so I was quite keen for tonight.
“(It was) a pity to get out in the moment that I did. It felt like an evening where you could get a really big one for the side and I was quite disappointed to get out when I did, but nice to find a little bit of rhythm and flow and hopefully I can run with that now,” he concluded.
–IANS
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