'If we are allowed to...' - Aiden Markram's puzzling statement raises eyebrows on SRH management once again

Aiden Markram triggered a major speculation with a strange statement at the end of Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) season-ending defeat to the Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2023 this Monday (May 15). The Sunrisers captain sparked a debate on how much influence he has on selection matters with the side despite being made the designated skipper. 

The remarks that led to discussions to this front were made at the post-match presentation ceremony, where, in an interesting statement, the SRH leader indirectly indicated that the franchise owners have more of a say on who takes the field for the 2016 champions. 

Initially, the comments skipped the eyes of those watching at the stadium and from their television sets. But social media picked out a part of Aiden Markram's post-match speech and raised a question mark on what exactly was the skipper implying, asking if it's a suggestion that the SRH ownership group, and not the captain and the coach, have it their way with the selection?

The elegant South African batter may not have meant what he said or how he phrased this sentence. But his comment has once again brought the SRH owners under scrutiny after previous years of accusations from former Sunrisers cricketers of being mishandled by the franchise and not being given the due respect. 

Markram's 'if we're allowed to' remark raises major speculation on SRH 

The comment was made at the presentation ceremony after Aiden Markram got asked if the Sunrisers would look to spread the net wide in their playing ranks and give their backup arsenal the due opportunities in their two inconsequential remaining IPL 2023 league games. 

Markram responded in the positive to the query made by ex India head coach and veteran commentator, Ravi Shastri, insisting also there is a lot of "pride" they can still play for. But what followed was a line that got the fans questioning if the appointed SRH skipper really has any influence on selection.

"A lot of pride for us to play for. We'll try to give some opportunities," Markram initially said, but then added an asterisk, "if we're allowed to." It's the "if we're allowed to" bit that turned the whole response into a controversial one and led to speculations if the SRH owners are once again not allowing the captain and the coach to determine the playing personnel, potentially dictating terms with the support staff in the team's playing choices.  

Fans picked out the "if we're allowed" remark on Twitter and gave their reactions to it.

Here is how they reacted: 

Aiden Markram: "We'll try to give some opportunities if we're allowed to" <- who is exactly do they need permission from? #SRH #GTvsSRH #CricketTwitter Something is awfully wrong at SRH - something is broken and the management stinks pic.twitter.com/ifiZbLhOR0

— AAD!3 (@1_3Aadz) May 15, 2023

Other than the Aussie left-hander, the Afghanistan spin duo of Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, too, have accused SRH of mismanagement previously. Rashid became Sunrisers' shocking release ahead of IPL 2022 when the franchise opted to instead retain Kane Williamson at a sum of INR 15 crores.