IPL 2023: David Warner Appointed as Delhi Capitals’ Captain

Veteran Australia opener David Warner has been officially appointed as the captain of the Delhi Capitals for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). India all-rounder Axar Patel has been named as the vice-captain of the team, Delhi Capitals confirmed the appointments of the two players on Thursday, March 16. 

Incumbent Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant is sidelined after the horrific car crash and will miss out on 8 months of cricketing action due to multiple injuries. Once Pant was ruled out of the tournament, Warner was always the frontrunner to lead DC in IPL 2023.

The Aussie cricketer has the experience of leading a franchise in the IPL before. He led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to a title win in the 2016 edition of the IPL. Even though he is banned from the captaincy role by Cricket Australia in 2017, it won’t apply to the IPL, and he can step up once again. His numbers as captain in the toughest T20 league are just too good. He is the joint-fifth most successful captain in terms of matches won. In 69 matches as captain, Warner has won 35, lost 32 and two being tied. The dynamic left-handed batter has also got a great batting record while leading as he has scored 2840 runs at an average of 47.33 and a strike rate of 142.28, including one century and 26 fifties.

IPL 2023: Axar Named Warner’s Deputy

He was roped in by DC for INR 6.25 crore and made an instant impact by scoring 432 runs at an average of 48 and a healthy strike rate of 150.52, including five fifties. These numbers suggest that there wouldn’t have been any better option to lead Capitals than Warner.

Warner also shares a great bond with the current head coach of DC Ricky Ponting. Both Aussies will work together to help Capitals end their title drought. It is pertinent to note that DC are one of the few teams to have never won the IPL trophy. After earning praise from head coach Ponting for his brilliant returns in the India-Australia Test series, Axar has been promoted to the leadership group as Warner’s deputy for the season.