Kane Williamson Named Captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad for IPL 2018 Thursday March 29,2018

Sunrisers Hyderabad have named New Zealand captain and middle-order batsman Kane Williamson as their skipper for this season of the Indian Premier League. The decision comes in the wake of David Warner stepping down from his position as the captainof the franchise earlier, due to his involvement in the recent ball tampering controversy that took place during the third Test between South Africa and Australia in Cape Town.


Warner, who was banned by Cricket Australia for a year from any kind of cricketing activity on Wednesday, for his role in the fiasco, will not be a part of the Sunrisers squad as the ban automatically rules him out of the tournament.

Sunrisers Hyderabad made the announcement on their twitter handle on Thursday March 29,2018

SunRisers Hyderabad ✔ @SunRisers

Kane Williamson has been appointed as captain of SunRisers Hyderabad for IPL 2018.

1:15 PM - Mar 29, 2018

 

K Shanmugam, CEO of Sunrisers Hyderabad wrote,"We are happy to announce Kane Williamson as the captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad for IPL 2018."

"I've accepted the role to stand in as captain for this season. It's an exciting opportunity with a talented group of players. I look forward to the challenges ahead," Kane Williamson added while accepting the role.

Warner's loss is a big one for the franchise as he has been a prized asset for the Sunrisers over the years. The southpaw has led the team with the bat, scoring 2579 runs in 59 innings at a whopping average of 52.63 and destructive strike rate of 147.70. He was also the man who led the team to IPL glory in the 2016. Sunrisers had used their right to match card in this season's IPL to retain the Australian.

Williamson, who has failed to cement his place in the playing XI as the franchise has mostly played bowlers as part of their foreign player quota, has been associated with the franchise since 2015. The Kiwi doesn't boast of a great T20 record with a sub-thirty average and a career strike-rate of under 120. But he is an established international captain and that must have prompted the Hyderabad based franchise to hand over the reins of the team to him.