IPL 2021: David Warner dropped, Bhuvneshwar Kumar returns as SRH opt to field against RR
The SRH took a big decision to give Kane Williamson the captaincy from David Warner on Saturday, but the franchise made an even bigger call ahead of their game against Sunday - they dropped Warner altogether.
The SRH head coach Tom Moody confirmed before their match against Rajasthan Royals that David Warner was dropped from the side, acknowledging that it was a "hard call."
Sunrisers won the toss and elected to bowl against RR in Delhi. Mohammad Nabi is the overseas player who replaced the outgoing Warner in the SRH lineup, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar is also back for the side.
For the Rajasthan Royals, Anuj Rawat is making his debut for the side while Jaydev Unadkat has been rested for youngster Kartik Tyagi.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday had confirmed that Kane Williamson will be leading the side for the remainder of the season. The decision came after a series of disappointing results for the side, which left the SRH reeling at the bottom of the table under long-time former skipper David Warner.
Warner has also struggled with the bat, and SRH stated in their official announcement that the franchise would also be making tweaks in their overseas players' combination for the game against RR, which led to further speculations on social media that SRH could drop Warner from the playing XI.
Both sides are aiming for a revival in their campaign. The RR are currently at seventh position in the table with only two wins in six games.
Here are the playing XIs:
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Anuj Rawat, David Miller, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Kartik Tyagi, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abdul Samad, Jonny Bairstow (w), Kane Williamson (c) Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed
