IPL 2018: David Warner steps down from captaincy; new captain to be named soon

Following up to the recent string of events after the infamous ‘sandpaper’ incident in the South Africa v Australia Test match, Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have decided to relieve Australian vice-captain David Warner of his duties.

In the third Test match between South Africa and Australia, Aussie youngster Cameron Bancroft was found tampering the ball with the sandpaper. His skipper, Steve Smith later admitted the mistake in the press conference and has said that the “leadership group” were involved in the hideous planning which violates the sanctity of the game.

For obvious reasons, the cricketing world could not tolerate such malpractices, and every other form of media was flooded with coverages of Smith’s team’s shameful act. While head coach Darren Lehmann was said not to be a part of the so-called “leadership group”, skipper Smith and vice-captain Warner were found guilty.

No end to the bad news

Apparently, both Smith and Warner, the two minds behind the act which has put the gentleman’s game to shame, were associated with IPL. Not only as players, but the duo were the skippers of their respective IPL teams, Rajasthan Royals, and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Royals have already announced that not Smith but Ajinkya Rahane will lead the side, and Warner’s sacking from the post of SRH’s skipper was just a matter of time.

Interestingly, Warner is the person responsible for Hyderabad’s staggering rise, besides some great planning by the management. In his captaincy, the ‘Orange Army’ won their maiden IPL title in 2016. But that legacy is over, as one poor incident has robbed the duo of their pride.

Sunrisers revealed the news on Twitter, where they said ““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.” Warner’s sacking also means that for the first time in the history of India’s annual cricketing extravaganza, all the 8 teams will be lead by an Indian.

“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

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) March 28, 2018