David Warner, a seasoned Australian batsman, was chosen the Delhi Capitals’ captain on Thursday in the absence of Rishabh Pant, who is still recovering from a car accident. Rishabh Pant will not play in the next Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Axar Patel, an all-rounder for India, will serve as the Delhi team’s vice-captain, a position he previously held the previous year.
On March 31, IPL 2023 kicks off.
Sourav Ganguly, a former BCCI president and captain of India, was also appointed as the team’s director of cricket by DC. In the past, Ganguly has served as a mentor for the Delhi Capitals for the 2019 season.
We will all miss having Rishabh around since he has been a great leader for the Delhi Capitals. I would want to express my gratitude to the management for their unwavering belief in me “Warner said in a statement.
“I’ve always considered this franchise to be my home, and I’m beyond thrilled to be in charge of such an incredibly gifted group of athletes. I can’t wait to get started and meet everyone!” When Pant, who had been in charge of the team since the 2021 season, was involved in a terrible vehicle accident in late December and had a successful knee ligament tear surgery in Mumbai, Warner’s appointment as DC’s captain was to be anticipated.
For Australia’s ODI phase of the trip, which gets underway in Mumbai on Friday, Warner is now in India. With 5881 runs from 162 games over 13 seasons since 2009, he is one of the IPL’s most productive batsmen. He has a 42.01 average, a 140.69 strike rate, with four hundreds and 55 fifty-hits.
In 2009, while the squad was still known as the Delhi Daredevils, Warner started his IPL career with the Delhi franchise. He remained a member of the group until 2013. He served as the team’s temporary captain for a few games in 2013 before being acquired by Sunrirsers Hyderabad the following year.
As captain in 2016, Warner led Sunrisers to the IPL championship. In terms of games won, he is tied for seventh place among captains. Warner’s teams competed in 69 games, winning 35, losing 32, and drawing two.
After having a disagreement with the Sunrisers management after a disappointing performance in the 2021 IPL, Warner rejoined the Delhi team in 2022. In the most recent IPL, he scored 432 runs for DC at an average of 48 and a respectable strike rate of 150.52, including five half-centuries.
The 36-year-old powerful opener had a difficult time against India in the two Test matches he played for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He only managed to score 26 runs from his three innings before being replaced during the second game in Delhi due to a concussion.
After that, he went back home to heal from an elbow hairline fracture.
In the meanwhile, Ganguly expressed his excitement at rejoining the Delhi Capitals.
“During the previous six months, my affiliation with the women’s team and the Pretoria Capitals has been amazing, and I’m looking forward to the 2018 IPL season,” he added.
“During my previous time with Delhi Capitals, the squad performed well. This time, I’ve already interacted with the players, so I’m eager to see them all together. We should all enjoy ourselves during the next several months, I hope. On April 1, the Delhi Capitals will play their away season opening against the Lucknow Super Giants.