Warner returns as Sunrisers captain for IPL 2020

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Sunrisers Hyderabad have named Australia batsman David Warner as captain for the 2020 season, the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise said on Thursday.

Warner returns as skipper after a two-year absence, taking over from New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, who led Sunrisers in the 2018 and 2019 editions of the popular Twenty20 league.

Warner was Sunrisers captain between 2015 and 2017 and won the IPL title with them in 2016, but he was banned for a year in 2018 for his part in a ball-tampering scandal.

The 33-year-old Australian allegedly masterminded a plot to tamper with the ball using sandpaper during a test against South Africa two years ago, for which he and captain Steve Smith were banned by Cricket Australia.

Williamson led Sunrisers to a runners-up finish in the 2018 IPL and to fourth place last year.

“I’m thrilled to be given the captaincy for this coming IPL 2020,” Warner said in a video on Twitter https://twitter.com/SunRisers/status/1232902640222310400. “I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity once again to lead the team… I will do my best to lead us to lift the IPL trophy this year.”

The IPL season begins on March 29.