David Warner steps down as Sunrisers Hyderabad Captain

In a recent announcement, Sunrisers Hyderabad has confirmed that David Warner has stepped down as the captain of the franchise in the upcoming edition of IPL. The new captain of the franchise is yet to be announced.

“In light of recent events, David Warner has stepped down as captain of SunRisers Hyderabad. The new captain of the Team will be announced shortly,” K.Shanmugam, CEO, SunRisers Hyderabad, said.

The Australian opener took the decision after being involved in a ball-tampering gate in South Africa that has set the cricketing fraternity on rage. Earlier, Steve Smith too was stood down as the captain of Rajasthan Royals after the Australian skipper pledged guilty for being involved in the row. Ajinkya Rahane has been named as the new captain for RR.

Many saw the decision coming given the backlash the Aussie players have been receiving over the past few days. Cricket Australia announced that Steve Smith has been resigned from his captaincy duties and the tainted trio( Steve Smith, David Warner, Cameron Bancroft) will be sent back to Australia on Wednesday. The board also announced that Darren Lehmann wasn’t involved in the row and will continue to coach the team.

Indian wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha, who will be keeping gloves for Sunrisers Hyderabad this season, said the decision wouldn’t affect the team much and they are strong enough to replace David Warner.

David Warner proved to be the leading run-scorer for Sunrisers Hyderabad in several seasons. The flamboyant batsman led the team from the front and also inspired them to lift their maiden title in 2016.