It is between Williamson and Dhawan for Sunrisers captaincy

Australian batsman David Warner stepped down as captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday in the aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal that has tainted his reputation and shaken international cricket to the core. This was even before the IPL or Cricket Australia’s verdict.

The two candidates in line for captaincy for Sunrisers are New Zealand’s Kane Williamson and India opener Shikhar Dhawan. 

"The new captain of the team will be announced shortly," Sunrisers Hyderabad CEO K Shanmugam said in a tweet posted by the team's official handle.

The 31-year-old Warner also reportedly partied after the ball-tampering scandal. The latest episode continues the fall from grace for Warner, who was earlier caught on camera having an aggressive verbal duel with South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock during the second Test.

Warner was seen being physically restrained by his teammates in the footage that went viral on social media and invited a fine from the ICC.

The BCCI, on Wednesday, barred Steve Smith and David Warner from taking part in this year's Indian Premier League after Cricket Australia banned the disgraced duo for their role in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

Smith and Warner were supposed to captain their respective franchises Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad in this edition but had stepped down in the wake of the scandal and CA's sanction paved the way for BCCI to ban the duo.

The Australian body banned Smith and Warner for one year, and opener Cameron Bancroft for nine months.

"They (Cricket Australia) have banned two players and we are also barring these two players from this year's IPL," IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said.

"We wanted everything in our own hands. First, we waited for ICC's decision, after that Cricket Australia and then we decided on the matter.

"The replacements will be made available to the two teams. We did not take any decision in haste, it was a well thought out decision," Shukla added.

Minutes later, the Indian cricket board issued a release stating:"The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) on Wednesday took cognizance of the developments in the ball tampering incident involving Cricket Australia contracted cricketers – Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.

"The CoA, in consultation with BCCI Acting President CK Khanna, IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla and BCCI Acting Hon. Secretary Amitabh Choudhary, has decided to ban Smith and Warner with immediate effect from participation in IPL 2018," the statement added.