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.
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.
