The much-awaited announcement of the player replacement has arrived from Sunrisers Hyderabad. Putting an end to all the speculations, Hyderabad franchise has opted to replace their previous captain and opener David Warner with another opener Alex Hales. Hales was not picked up by any franchise in the 2018 IPL auctions and was free to be selected. He will play in the orange jersey this year.

Following the implications of sandpaper gate, the BCCI made it clear that none of the guilty cricketers will be allowed to play in the IPL. The most affected team by that announcement was that of the Sunrisers Hyderabad. David Warner was not only the captain of the team but also the highest run-getter in past few seasons. He was the orange cap winner of IPL 2017.

Also Read: BCCI confirms that Smith-Warner will not feature in the IPL

Sunrisers Hyderabad had an easy choice while selecting their captain in place of Warner. They chose New Zealand Captain Kane Williamson to take up the job. The next awaited development was that of the replacement player. Today, SRH announced the English opener Alex Hales as the replacement player of David Warner.

Also Read: IPL 2018: Kane Williamson To Lead Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Nottinghamshire opener was signed up in the IPL 2015 by the Mumbai Indians team to replace Corey Anderson but Hales could not make the most of the opportunity and was not seen in the next IPL. He was once again overlooked in the 2018 IPL Auction and went unsold.

Now with Warner out of the side, this will be a golden opportunity for Alex Hales to show his skills in the most-celebrated T20 League. He will be opening the innings with Shikhar Dhawan and the duo will hopefully be as explosive as the previous one.

Alex Hales has played 52 T20Is so far and has a T20I century in his name too. He recently played in the Pakistan Super League and represented the champions of this season Islamabad United. Hales has played for the Melbourne Renegades in Big Bash League also.