David Warner back as Sunrisers Hyderabad captain
New Delhi: Explosive Australian batsman David Warner was on Thursday reinstated as IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad's captain, a position that he had to give up after the ball-tampering scandal in 2018.
The 33-year-old Warner, who led the Sunrisers to the trophy in 2016, will take over from New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson for the season starting March 29.
"I am thrilled to be given the captaincy for this coming IPL 2020. I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to lead the side once again," Warner said in a video posted by the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
"I'd like to thank Kane (Williamson) for the way you guys led the team throughout the last couple of years and I'd be leaning on you guys for support and insight to the game as well," he said.
"To the management thank you for the opportunity and I'm sure I'll be doing my very best to try and lead us and lift again the IPL trophy this coming year," he added.
Warner had stepped down as captain after he was barred from participating in the 2018 season of the tournament in the aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal.
In March 2018, during Australia's third Test against South Africa in Cape Town, Cameron Bancroft was caught using a sand paper to tamper the ball.
Warner and then captain Steve Smith were both slapped with one-year bans for conspiring to do it, while Bancroft was suspended for nine months.
After serving the ban, Warner made a successful return to international cricket before last year's ODI World Cup where he was the second highest run-getter with 647 runs at an average of 71.88, just one run behind India's Rohit Sharma.
The dashing opener was also awarded the Allan Border Medal for the third time earlier this month. He was Australia's best batsman at the World Cup and excelled in Twenty20 series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Warner took apart Pakistan's young bowling attack in the two-Test series that followed, including a career-high 335 not out in Adelaide. Warner also a enjoyed a fruitful season with the Sunrisers in the IPL last year.
The southpaw amassed 692 runs, hitting an unbeaten century and going beyond the fifty-run mark eight times in 12 games. In the absence of Warner, the Williamson-led Sunrisers had finished runners-up in 2018.
The Hyderabad franchise had lost to the Delhi Capitals in the eliminator last year. The team will start its campaign against defending champions Mumbai Indians on April 1 in Hyderabad.
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Delhi polls: BJP releases second list of 29 candidates, features ex-CM's son, Kapil Mishra
New Delhi, Jan 11: The BJP on Saturday released its second list featuring 29 candidates for the Delhi Assembly polls, fielding Kapil Mishra, a former AAP leader now identified with hardline Hindutva politics, from Karawal Nagar.
It has fielded Harish Khurana, son of former Delhi chief minister Madan Lal Khurana, from the Moti Nagar constituency.
With the latest announcement, the party has so far named candidates for 58 seats of the 70-member Delhi Assembly.
The elections are scheduled to be held on February 5 and the votes will be counted on February 8.
Mishra, who replaced sitting party MLA Mohan Singh Bisht, made several speeches, denounced as inflammatory by rival parties, just before communal riots broke out in northeast Delhi in February 2020.
Sitting BJP MLA from Laxmi Nagar seat Abhay Verma will seek reelection from the same seat. He won the constituency in 2020 with a narrow margin of just over 800 votes.
Both Mishra and Verma are Purvanchalis. Two other candidates, Bajrang Shukla from Kirari and Pankaj Singh from Vikaspuri, also belong to the same community.
Delhi BJP's Mandir Prakoshth (temple cell) chief Karnail Singh is the party's candidate against sitting AAP MLA and former minister Satyendar Jain at Shakoor Basti seat.
Former Kasturba Nagar MLA Neeraj Basoya, who recently defected to the BJP from Congress, was fielded from the same seat.
Former Delhi BJP general secretary (organisation) Pawan Sharma will contest Uttam Nagar seat that he won in 2013.
Deepti Indora, Matia Mahal, Urmila Kailash Gangwar, Madipur (SC), Shweta Saini, Tilak Nagar, Priyanka Gautam, Kondli (SC), and Neelam Pahalwan from Najafgarh are the party's women candidates so far.
The list features four former MLAs and eight sitting municipal councilors.
Former mayor Shyam Sharma was fielded from the Hari Nagar seat which has a significant number of Sikh voters.
Tickets on remaining 12 tickets will likely be announced soon after discussions on seats like Delhi Cantt, Greater Kailash and Shahdara.
Party sources said former Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi was considered for the Greater Kailash seat, although she was interested in contesting from Delhi Cantt.
भाजपा की केन्द्रीय चुनाव समिति ने दिल्ली में होने वाले विधानसभा चुनाव 2025 के लिए निम्नलिखित नामों पर अपनी स्वीकृति प्रदान की है। pic.twitter.com/STdMQZZ2VM
— BJP (@BJP4India) January 11, 2025
