With Pant ruled out for the entire 2023 season, the Capitals needed an interim captain, and Warner stood out alongside Axar Patel, who was the vice-captain in 2022.
Warner will be leading the Capitals for the second time. He led the team in a couple of games during his previous stint with the franchise between 2009 and 2013. Sunrisers Hyderabad signed the opener in 2014, and he led the team to their first title in 2016.
Warner is the fifth-most successful captain in terms of matches won. As captain, he has won 35 of 69 matches, lost 32, and tied two. Warner was unaffected by the responsibility of captaincy. As a captain, he has 2,840 runs at an average of 47.33 and a strike rate of 142.28, with one century and 26 fifties.
However, a slump in his form during the first half of the 2021 IPL forced SRH to bench Warner and replace him as captain with Kane Williamson. This caused a schism between the team and Warner, and he was released before the 2022 mega auction.
Capitals won him in the auction for 6.25 crore. With 432 runs at an average of 48, a strike rate of 150.52, and five fifties, he emerged as the team’s leading run-scorer.
The Capitals were eliminated from the playoffs after a close loss to the Mumbai Indians in their final league match. DC finished fifth in the standings with seven wins, seven losses, and a total of 14 points.
Warner recently struggled against India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and returned home after injuring his elbow in the second Test in Delhi. Despite a dip in his red-ball form, he remains a strong limited-overs batter and will look to use his IPL experience to help his team during the ICC Cricket World Cup, which will be held in India from October to November this year.
DC will begin their IPL 2023 campaign on April 1 against the Lucknow Super Giants.
