Delhi Capitals officially announced David Warner as theIr skipper for IPL 2023, and named Axar Patel as the vice-captain of the side. "The JSW-GMR co-owned Delhi Capitals today announced Australian batter David Warner as Captain for the upcoming season of the TATA Indian Premier League. Warner steps in as skipper for Rishabh Pant, who is currently undergoing rehab and recovery. Meanwhile, all-rounder Axar Patel has been named the team’s Vice Captain," said DC in a statement.
David Warner is one of the best overseas performers in the history of the league. As captain, he led Sunrisers Hyderabad to their only title in 2016. As a batter, he has 5881 runs in 162 innings. He has four 100s and 55 fifties against his name. Unfortunately, SRH and Warner's relationship hit a staggering low when the southpaw was benched in the 2021 season before being released in 2022 ahead of the mega-auction.
He was then bagged by Delhi for INR 6.25 crore. His value as a batter was on full display, as he turned out to be the run-getter for the team, scoring 432 runs at an average of 48 with a strike rate of 150.52.
"Rishabh has been a terrific leader for Delhi Capitals, and we’re all going to miss having him around. I would like to thank the management for the faith and trust they’ve always shown in me. This franchise has always been home for me, and I couldn’t be more excited to lead such a supremely talented bunch of players. I can’t wait to meet them all, and get cracking!," said Warner talking about his new role.
The 2023 edition of the IPL will commence on March 31. Delhi will open their campaign against LSG on April 1.
David Warner & The Whites
Australia's head coach Andrew McDonald recently claimed that Warner is fully in plans for the World Test championship final. The left-hander has been struggling for runs on a consistent basis and was out of colour in the recently concluded 4-match Test series in India.
Also Read: David Warner: Last of the Australian stars and the fiery kangaroo
McDonald feels that Warner shall be played in the WTC final against India in June. "I think you work through that conversation, and how each player finishes is always different. Some want to go out in a certain way, and others are OK with potentially being dropped out of sides. But at the moment Dave’s fully in our plans for the World Test Championship, he’s coming back for the one-day series, and he’s recovered from his injury there, so we’ll see Dave back in Australian colours on the 17th and we’ll go from there," McDonald said.
With World Cup around the corner, it will be interesting to see how Warner fares in the 3-match ODI series against India before a decision is taken on his selection in the playing 11 for the WTC final.
