David Warner has once again been appointed as the captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) after Kane Williamson led the Orange Army for the last two seasons in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
On Thursday, SRH posted a video of Warner on their official Twitter handle, where the southpaw expressed his happiness at leading the Sunrisers again.
The Australian said that he is thrilled to be leading the Sunrisers again and is extremely grateful for the opportunity once again.
“I’m thrilled to be given the captaincy for this coming IPL in 2020. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity once again to lead the team,” Warner said.
Warner also thanked Kane Williamson and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who led the team in his absence in 2018 and also in the last season of IPL.
“I’d obviously thank Kane [Williamson] and Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] for the way you guys led throughout the last couple of years. You guvs have done an outstanding job and I’d be leaning on you guys for support and your insight to the game as well,” Warner said.
“And to the management, thank you very much for once again giving me this opportunity and I’ll be doing my very, very best in trying to lead us to lifting that IPL trophy once again.”
“And, Sunrisers fans… looking forward to seeing you guys outside the fortress,” Warner added.
🚨Announcement🚨#OrangeArmy, our captain for #IPL2020 is @davidwarner31. pic.twitter.com/lV9XAMw6RS
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) February 27, 2020
Warner has been Sunrisers’s linchpin with the bat since joining the side in 2014. He made an instant impact in his debut season for the franchise, scoring 528 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 140.80. He was named captain for the following year, a role that, if any, only accentuated his batting numbers.
In the four seasons of IPL, he has played since, Warner has clubbed 562, 848, 642 and 692 runs – finishing with the Orange Cap in 2015, 2017 and 2019. With 4706 runs from 126 IPL games, Warner is fourth in the list of the tournament’s all-time run-getters, behind the Indian trio of Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, and Rohit Sharma.
The SRH will open their IPL 2020 campaign under Warner’s leadership at home against the defending champions Mumbai Indians on April 1.