'I don't really know what's happening': Markram on why Umran Malik is not playing for SRH

Sunrisers Hyderabad are taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 65th match of the ongoing Indian Premier League. Faf Du Plessis, Virat Kohli, and Co. are having a go at Sunrisers Hyderabad and will want to win this clash at any cost to keep their hopes of reaching the IPL 2023 playoffs alive. In the 65th match, RCB won the toss and decided to bowl first. Interestingly, SRH have nothing more to gain in this IPL, but the silence around Umran Malik's absence has been defeaning. Aiden Markram chose to open up on the Umran Malik conundrum and dropped some updates. 

Aiden Markram on Umran Mailik

I am not too sure to be honest with you. As a player he is backed, has a lot of X factor. But I don't really know what's happening with him behind the scenes, but certainly a player with lot of X-factor

READ MORE: Here's Royal Challengers Bangalore Awful Record Vs Hyderabad In Must-win Games

In the past, SRH owners have come under scrutiny for their misconduct with the players in IPL 2023. David Warner not being invited for the official photoshoot of the team was one of the instances. On top of that, Markram's statement does not make things any better. Here's what Markram said after the GT vs SRH game.  

We're batting first at home tonight!

Nitish Kumar Reddy receives his debut cap 🧡

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) May 18, 2023

"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." 

READ MORE: RCB vs SRH Today Match IPL 2023 Live Score

While the majority of the statement does not pose any contention, the "If we are allowed to" part draws questions regarding what hold the captain and team management have over the affairs of the team. So, while nothing can concrete can be stated, the statement was enough to fuel fire on social media

RCB vs SRH, Today IPL match: Confirmed Playing XI

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Anuj Rawat (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Michael Bracewell, S Ahmed,  Wayne Parnell, Karn Sharma, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), Harry Brook, Glenn Phillips, Abdul Samad, Kartik Tyagi, Mayank Dagar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nitish Reddy

RCB vs SRH, Today IPL match:  Confirmed Impact Players

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Dinesh Karthik(w), Kedar Jadhav, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Himanshu Sharma, Suyash Prabhudessai

Sunrisers Hyderabad: V Sharma, S Singh, T Natarajan, M Markande, A Hosein