IPL 2023: "They might be thinking of him" - Irfan Pathan feels Sunrisers Hyderabad will go with Mayank Agarwal as their next captain

The former Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Mayank Agarwal is going through a lean patch in his career after being dropped from the Indian cricket team.

After being removed from the leadership, the franchise released the right-handed batter by the Punjab-based franchise ahead of the IPL Auction 2023. With the mini-auction set to be held at the Kochi on December 3rd, Friday, the Karanataka batter has registered himself in the INR 1 crore list ahead of the auction.

The 31-year-old has featured in 13 matches for Punjab Kings in the previous edition of the Indian Premier League and has managed to score only 196 runs that he played at an average of below 17.

Moreover, Mayank Agarwal's strike rate also raised a lot of questions and his inconsistency with the bat pushed the franchise to release him ahead of the IPL 2023 mini-auction.

They don't have Kane Williamson right now: Irfan Pathan

The former Indian cricketer, Irfan Pathan has come up with an interesting statement ahead of the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League. The left-handed all-rounder believes that Sunrisers Hyderabad will go with Mayank Agarwal as they need an aggressive opener as well as a captain who can play fearless cricket for the side.

During an interaction with Star Sports show Game Plan, Irfan Pathan said, "SRH will go after Mayank Agarwal because they need a kind of aggressive opener as well. They don't have Kane Williamson right now who led them for many years as an experienced player and who used to open the innings as well.

Mayank Agarwal is the kind of guy who has led a side, who plays quite freely as well, very fearless, very selfless. They might be thinking of him going forward as a leader as well," was quoted as saying by Circle of Cricket.