Sunrisers Hyderabad have sacked incumbent skipper David Warner for the remainder of IPL 2021 in the wake of their poor outing in the ongoing tournament. Hyderabad currently toil at the end of the points table with only one win from six matches.
Meanwhile, Kane Williamson has been named as the skipper and will lead the side from the next matches. Williamson’s promotion comes a day after Warner said he took “full responsibility” for the Sunrisers’ loss against the Chennai Super Kings, their fifth defeat in six games. A game prior to that he had described Manish Pandey’s omission from the starting XI as a “harsh” call by the “selectors”.
David Warner, under whom SunRisers Hyderabad lifted the trophy back in 2016, has struggled to lead from the front, with his batting form also taking a hit. So far, he has scored only two fifties – the latest against Chennai Super Kings in the last match but has not looked in the best of shape.
Kane Williamson to lead Sunrisers Hyderabad
On the other hand, the Kiwi skipper in all three matches that he played so far, notably scoring an unbeaten 66 against the Delhi Capitals and a quick-fire 26 against Chennai Super Kings. Williamson also has a compelling captaincy record, leading them to the finals of the 2018 edition and a year in which he also finished as the leading run-getter with 735 runs.
Apart from making a change in the leadership role, Sunrisers Hyderabad also revealed that they will make a change in their overseas combinations for the next game against Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals.
“Sunrisers Hyderabad would like to announce that Kane Williamson will be taking over the captaincy for tomorrow’s match and for the remainder of IPL 2021,” Sunrisers Hyderabad wrote in a statement.
“The team management has also made a decision to change the overseas combination for tomorrow’s match against Rajasthan Royals,” it added.
🚨 Announcement 🚨 pic.twitter.com/B9tBDWwzHe
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) May 1, 2021
Sunrisers Hyderabad faces Rajasthan Royals in their next game on May 2 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The champions of the 2016 season will look to bounce back and keep themselves alive in the tournament.
