In a desperate bid to reverse their fortunes, Sunrisers Hyderabad have taken a massive call by replacing David Warner as skipper, naming Kane Williamson to lead. SRH are at the bottom of the IPL table having lost five of their six matches.
When Warner was unavailable for IPL 2018 while serving a suspension, Williamson led the team to the final and was their top-scorer with 735 runs.
After missing the first three matches due to injury, he has come in and looked in good touch. In three innings he has scored 108 runs, including an unbeaten 66. SRH tied the match with Delhi Capitals but lost in the super over. The New Zealand skipper is playing IPL since 2015. In 56 matches, he has scored 1,727 runs at an average of 42.12.
SRH said in a statement on Saturday: “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. The team management also made the decision that they will be changing their overseas combination for tomorrow’s match against Rajasthan Royals.”
{{/usCountry}}SRH said in a statement on Saturday: “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. The team management also made the decision that they will be changing their overseas combination for tomorrow’s match against Rajasthan Royals.”
{{/usCountry}}It could mean Warner may be rested for Sunday’s game. The left-handed opener has a superb record with SRH, and is their most successful captain and batsman, but has struggled to find his touch this season, scoring only 193 runs in six matches. In the last match against Chennai Super Kings, he laboured to a 55-ball 57. Only a 10-ball unbeaten 26 by Williamson helped SRH reach a respectable total of 171, which was chased down easily by CSK.
Overall though, Warner has been a one-man army for SRH. Except for 2018, he has been SRH’s top run-getter every season since 2014. Warner captained them to the title in 2016 while scoring 848 runs. The franchise mentioned the tremendous impact Warner has had.
“This decision has not come lightly as the management respects the enormous impact Warner has had over the franchise over a number of years. As we face the remainder of the season we are sure David will continue to help us strive for success on and off the field,” the SRH statement said.
Playing IPL since 2009, Warner has been a prolific batsman with 5,447 runs in 148 matches at an average of 42.22. He has scored four hundreds. In the last game, he became the first batsman in IPL to score 50 fifties.
Last season, SRH finished third to qualify for the play-offs. In 2019, they were fourth, topped the table in 2018, were third in 2017 and 2016 seasons.