Delhi Capitals are yet to announce their stand-in captain for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. Rishabh Pant will not be a part of the tournament this year as he is recovering from multiple injuries suffered in a car accident. In his absence, the franchise, in most likelihood, will hand the onus to star Australia batter David Warner.
The Aussie opener has an impressive record in the IPL as a captain. Back in 2016, he led the Sunrisers Hyderabad to their first and only title victory. Given his stature, in IPL and international cricket, Warner would be the first choice. Several media reports have claimed that he is set to lead the side with Axar Patel as his deputy. However, an official announcement is still awaited.
Meanwhile, former India batter Aakash Chopra has explained why handing the leadership to Warner is a no-brainer.
“You will now see David Warner as the captain for the Delhi Capitals, which was almost a given, because if you don’t have Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer left long back, there was no other captaincy candidate left in this team, to be very honest," Aakash Chopra said in his latest YouTube video.
“Warner has already captained earlier in this league. He captained very well initially but was removed from captaincy in the end. He left the Hyderabad franchise and moved towards Delhi," he added.
Apart from captaincy, Warner’s form will be a major concern for the franchise. He wasn’t at his best during the first two Tests against India before getting ruled out of the entire Border-Gavaskar Trophy due to a hairline fracture.
Chopra isn’t sure how long Warner will be at the top of his game. He said, “It seems he is at the twilight of his career. His place in Tests is slightly 50-50 but he is still a force in white-ball cricket, so nobody is going to touch him. But we really don’t know how much of his best is still ahead of him. He is still a gun player and will be leading the Delhi franchise."
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