Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad might receive a severe setback with their skipper and star batsman David Warner unlikely to feature in the forthcoming season. While dark clouds loom over the future of the tournament amid coronavirus threat, but it is expected that the tournament will go as per old schedule behind closed-door.

The novel coronavirus has halted many global sporting events. On March 11 (Wednesday), the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) a pandemic. As the numbers say,118 countries have been affected by COVID-19, classified as a respiratory illness. More than 120,000 people have been infected with over 4,300 deaths worldwide. In India so far, 73 people have been infected with no deaths as yet.

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While there are still doubts over the future of the competition with the Governing Council meeting on March 14 to decide on the course of action, Sunrisers Hyderabad has been hit badly with their star campaigner likely to miss the upcoming IPL. Reportedly, Warner’s visa application has been rejected without disclosing a specific reason for the same amid the rising coronavirus threat.

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Meanwhile, David Warner has been Sunrisers Hyderabad main man with the bat since joining the side in 2014. He made an instant impact in his debut season for the franchise, scoring 528 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 140.80. In the four seasons, he has played since, Warner has tallied 562, 848, 642 and 692 runs – finishing with the Orange Cap in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Moreover, with 4706 from 126 IPL games, David Warner sits fourth in the list of the tournament’s all-time run-getters, behind the Indian trio of Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma. It will be a massive setback for the franchise if ultimately he fails to get the visa.

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