IPL 2018: Kane Williamson named SRH captain

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has been appointed the captain of the franchise for the 2018 IPL. Williamson will replace Australian batsman David Warner, who stepped down as the captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad after his involvement in the ongoing Sandpaper gate.

"We are happy to announce Kane Williamson as the captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad for IPL 2018," said K Shanmugam, CEO of Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Ahead of New Zealand's second Test against England, the newly-appointed Sunrisers captain said that it is an exciting opportunity for him and he is looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.

"I've accepted the role to stand in as the captain for this season. It's an exciting opportunity with a talented group of players. I look forward to the challenges ahead," he said.

The franchise is yet to announce the replacement for the Australian batsman who was banned from taking part in the IPL.

Cricket Australia (CA) CEO James Sutherland announced that only Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft were involved in the Sandpaper gate as the trio left the rainbow nation and won't be a part of the fourth and last Test match against South Africa, which starts in Johannesburg on 30th March.

All the three players were handed bans by their country's cricket board. Warner and Smith will be out of action for one year while Bancroft is banned for nine months. BCCI confirmed that both Smith and Warner won't be a part of the 2018 IPL after they were handed bans by CA.

Warner follows in the footsteps of Smith, who stepped down as the skipper of Rajasthan Royals for the upcoming season after the saga took the cricket article by storm. Both the players were retained by their respective franchises for INR 12.5 crores or $2.4million, which makes them the highest-paid Australian players in the T20 extravaganza.

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