Warner steps down as Sunrisers Hyderabad captain

Former Australia Vice-captain David Warner has stepped down as the captain of IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad following his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal during the third Test match against South Africa.

Former Australia Vice-captain David Warner has stepped down as the captain of IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad following his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal during the third Test match against South Africa.

However, the 31-year-old’s replacement has not yet been announced. His participation in the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League along with his countryman Steve Smith remains in doubt.

If Smith and Warner face a ban from Cricket Australia they will automatically get suspended for the upcoming season.

Sunrisers Hyderabad took to Twitter to break the news, “In light of recent events, David Warner has stepped down as captain of SunRisers Hyderabad. The new captain of the Team will be announced shortly.” – K.Shanmugam, CEO, SunRisers Hyderabad.

Steve Smith and Warner stood down as captain and vice-captain of the Australian squad after the duo was found guilty hatching plot to alter the condition of the ball to gain undue advantage.

Opener Cameroon Bancroft was caught on camera while using a sandpaper to tamper the ball.

The trio was ordered to return home by Cricket Australia after a preliminary inquiry, which cleared coach Darren Lehmann of any involvement.

The 31-year-old Warner also reportedly irked the entire Australian dressing room by partying after the scandal.

Earlier, Smith had also stepped down as captain of another IPL franchise, Rajasthan Royals, due to the incident, for which he was banned for one Test by the ICC.

Smith was replaced by Ajinkya Rahane as RR skipper for rest of Australia's third Test match against South Africa