Mumbai: Kane Williamson will take over as captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the remainder of the IPL 2021 season, the franchise confirmed on its social channels. Williamson will take over from David Warner after a poor start to the season has left the 2016 champions at the bottom of the standings with a solitary win from six games.
“The decision has not come lightly as the management respects the enormous impact David Warner has had for the franchise over a number of years,” the club said in a statement. “As we face the remainder of the season, we are sure David will continue to help us strive for success both on and off the field.
“The team management has also made the decision that they will be changing their overseas combination for tomorrow’s (Sunday) match against Rajasthan Royals.”
The decision comes in the backdrop of Sunrisers’ latest defeat to Chennai Super Kings, post which Warner said he took “full responsibility”. Incidentally, in the previous game he had stated that the decision to drop Manish Pandey from the XI as a “harsh” call from the “selectors.”
Williamson has previously led Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
He was named captain in 2018 after Warner had been barred from participating in that season of the tournament in the aftermath of the Sandpapergate controversy in Cape Town. Williamson top scored in the league with 735 runs in the team’s run to the final of the season.
In 2019, Sunrisers bowed out at the Eliminator stage after finishing fourth in the standings before Warner, their title-winning captain, was handed back the reins ahead of the 2020 season.
This post was published on May 1, 2021 12:18 pm