David Warner, the captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad, has stepped down from his post.
The news was confirmed today (March 28) after Cricket Australia confirmed his participation in the ‘Sandpaper Gate’.
Warner, along with Steven Smith and Cameron Bancroft, was one of the three players involved in the ball tampering attempt.
As a result of it, Warner, Smith and Bancroft were suspended by CA, and they will fly back home today.
Warner and Smith had already stepped down from their post of vice-captain and captain of Australia, respectively.
A few days back, Smith also stepped down from his post of captain of Rajasthan Royals, which mounted pressure on Warner to follow suit. Ajinkya Rahane succeeded Smith as Rajasthan Royals’ captain.
Sunrisers Hyderabad, on the other hand, decided to play the waiting game and did not name any replacement. Finally, Warner has stepped down from the post, and the franchise will soon name a replacement.
Warner led Sunrisers Hyderabad to their maiden title victory in 2016 when SRH defeated Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final.
Shikhar Dhawan, who performed vice-captaincy duties during Nidahas Trophy, looks all set to be named as the captain of the side.
Likes of Manish Pandey, Carlos Brathwaite, Bhuvneshwar Kumar are also in the race, but Dhawan seems to be the front-runner.
Meanwhile, the participation of Warner and Smith is still under doubt.
Cricket Australia will announce a verdict today, following which their availability for the tournament will be known.
If these two are banned, and CA attaches a clause which will allow them to play IPL, they will be free to play the league.
However, if CA doesn’t attach a clause, then these two will miss the coming IPL season. As per the reports, they, along with Cameron Bancroft are in line to be banned for one year. They will be completely out of action during the banned period.
The coming season of IPL kicks off on April 7 with Mumbai Indians taking on Chennai Super Kings in the IPL opener.
Sunrisers Hyderabad plays Rajasthan Royals in their opening game on April 9.