David Warner played under the captaincy of Kane Williamson in IPL 2019.
The 2020 edition of the league was postponed from its original date of March 29 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, which is also the reason, the whole tournament is being moved out of the country. Warner will appear in the IPL 2020, after BCCI confirmed the showcase T20 league will be played in UAE from September 19 onwards.
The left-handed opener was a revelation with the Sunrisers Hyderabad side and led the team to their maiden IPL title in 2016. He was restored as captain of the franchise recently and Warner called it an honor to lead the side again.
“I don't see it as a redemption tale. I just see it as an honor to captain the Sunrisers,” he said.
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New Zealand’s Kane Williamson did a fantastic job for the SRH in Warner’s absence in 2018, leading the team to the finals of the tournament, where they were beaten by Chennai Super Kings. Williamson was retained as the captain for the IPL 2019 as well and Warner played under his leadership.
"It's great to be back and leading, but everyone in that team is a leader in their own right. From where I sit, nothing is different. I still considered myself as a leader when I was there last year. It doesn't matter whether you've got a 'C' next to your name or not,” Warner explained.
Warner’s return to Tests in 2019 post his ban was not successful as he struggled against England in the Ashes that year, but he was back scoring centuries including 335* against Pakistan at home after that. He also had a successful 2019 World Cup.
Australia will be in England for a limited-overs tour before the IPL, which may mean that the T20 league will miss its Australian and England stars for the first week of the tournament. Australia is then set to host India for a four-test series, but the schedule may have to change depending on the different regulations in states across the country during the pandemic.
His current focus is on the tour of England in August-September and feels Australian team has an advantage over England, which has been living, training and playing in the so-called bio-bubble for the on-going test series against the West Indies and will continue to do so for upcoming series against Ireland and Pakistan.
"We're going over there fresh and with an open mind, keenness to play cricket and not in that bio-bubble yet. It'll be the same thing for us in the (Australian) summer ... good to get conversations going to see what we've got to prepare for this summer as well,” Warner said.
(Associated Press inputs)