David Warner has stepped down as the captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad after the ‘Sandpaper Gate’ in the 3rd Test against South Africa in Cape Town.
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Warner was part of the ‘leadership group’ that had planned the entire ball tampering scandal, making Bancroft the scapegoat, asking him to use sandpaper on the ball in order to get it to reverse before than it actually should.
While Warner has escaped any punishment from the ICC, Cricket Australia’s CEO James Sutherland last night confirmed that David Warner was indeed involved in carrying out the entire strategy that revolved around the ball tampering episode.
SRH will be hard hit by this scandal, as Warner has been a revelation for the Hyderabad franchise, especially after he was handed over the captaincy, leading SRH to the title in 2016.
Here are possible captaincy replacements for David Warner:
Shikhar Dhawan
If the SRH think tank decide to go in with an Indian captaincy replacement, they shouldn’t be looking any further than Shikhar Dhawan.
Dhawan has been an important cog in the SRH wheel and has also been a top performer for the Indian national side in the past few years. He has been with SRH since 2012.
While Dhawan does not have any notable captaincy experience, he has performed exceptionally for SRH and has a stellar IPL record. 3561 runs in 127 innings at an average of 32.67 and hitting them with a strike rate of 121+, Dhawan ranks amongst the best IPL batsmen of all time.
But does that make him a suitable captaincy choice?
Well with the players at their disposal, it does. Dhawan’s International and IPL experience will come in handy and he is a sure starter. Also, Dhawan seems to have the character and the cool head to pull off a leadership role.
Kane Williamson
Making Williamson captain could be a shrewd move on part of the SRH think tank, much like what they did when they made Warner captain.
They invested in a foreigner who they felt could take the team forward and while Warner did not have much captaincy experience while he was handed the SRH captaincy, Williamson does.
Williamson has been admirably leading the Black Caps ever since Brendon McCullum retired, taking forward the attacking brand of captaincy that McCullum had so beautifully inculcated in the ‘Kiwi’ culture.
The one thing that could go against Williamson is his lack of experience in the IPL, as he has played just 15 games in the IPL. However, he does have a stellar record in those 15 games, having scored 411 runs at an average of 31.62 with a strike rate of 129+.
His attacking captaincy style and record with the Black Caps could tilt the tables in his favour.
Now, while earlier, Williamson was not a sure starter for SRH, with Warner now almost certain to not play, Williamson could slot in at number 3 permanently.
Shakib Al Hasan
Shakib Al Hasan again has an outside chance of getting the captaincy for Sunrisers, primarily because of his captaincy experience with the Bangladesh national team.
Shakib played an important role for the Kolkata Knight Riders during both their title winning campaigns, using his all round skills to good effect.
Shakib has played 43 games in the IPL, scoring 498 runs at an average of 21.65 and with a strike rate of 130+.
His bowling has been impeccable too, having picked up 43 wickets in 43 games at an economy of just 7.17.
However, Shakib isn’t guaranteed a place in the side, with Nabi too offering a pretty similar role to the SRH management. Also, his recent antics against Sri Lanka during the Nidahas Trophy could force the SRH management to look elsewhere.
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar has a slight chance of making the cut, however, traditionally batsmen are preferred over bowlers when it comes to captaincy in India, and hence if SRH decide to go in with an Indian captain, Dhawan would be preferred over Bhuvi.
