‘Don’t see it as a redemption tale’: David Warner on regaining SRH captaincy

As IPL 2020 approaches, Warner, who was named the captain of SRH for the 13th season of the T20 league, opened up on being renamed as the captain of the franchise.

In March 2018, the world had turned upside down for Australia vice-captain David Warner. The ball-tampering scandal of 2018 during the 3rd Test against South Africa in Cape Town led to Warner being sacked vice captain of Australia and getting a one-year ban, alongside fellow teammates Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft (who had received a six-month ban).

Hyderabad: SRH batsman David Warner celebrates after reaching his century during the Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL T20) cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)(PTI)

At the same time, it was also decided that Warner would never return to a leadership position for his international team. The left-handed batsman was also removed as captain for Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad at the time and was not allowed to participate.

In 2019, Warner returned to play for SRH with a vengeance and he stunned the world with a string of consistent performances. With 692 runs in 12 games, Warner went on to become the player to earn the Orange Cap for the season. Now, as IPL 2020 approaches, Warner, who was named the captain of SRH for the 13th season of the T20 league, opened up on being renamed as the captain of the franchise.

“(I) don’t see it as a redemption tale, I just see it as an honour to captain the Sunrisers in the IPL. I’ve got a great relationship with the players and the staff and most importantly with the owners, and I’ve expressed my gratitude and I thank them for that,” Warner told reporters according to ESPNCricinfo.

“I’ll put my thinking cap on and try my best to move us forward to another IPL title,” he added.

“Obviously Kane and Bhuvi (Bhuvaneshwar Kumar)did a fantastic job without me there. And we’ve got a very, very good foundation there, we’ve got a great family.

“The environment the owners have created amongst the players and staff. It’s great to be back and leading. Having Kane there adds so much value and knowledge of the way the game is played as well. Similarly, we rebound off each other with our ideas quite well. and obviously playing against him - it helps when you are leading a team. but from where I sit, nothing different,” the opener said.

“I still considered myself a leader when I was there last year, as I said it doesn’t matter if you have a ‘c’ next to your name or not,” Warner signed off.