With the tournament just a few weeks away, Hyderabad's challenge was to find a suitable skipper who could lead from the front
Tom Moody
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Hyderabad have truly risen to challenges in order to reach their second T20 2018 final. The winners of the 2016 edition were plunged into a crisis after their regular skipper David Warner was slapped a one-year ban by Cricket Australia for the ball-tampering row in South Africa. With the tournament just a few weeks away, Hyderabad's challenge was to find a suitable skipper who could lead from the front.
Kane Williamson, who hardly got any games under Warner, got the nod to lead the side. The New Zealander has not just led from the front with 688 runs from 16 innings, his cool and calm demeanour and his mastery of reading the conditions has been a riding factor for Hyderabad.
"The captaincy came fairly suddenly," said Williamson. "It's been an enjoyable experience," said Williamson. Coach Tom Moody said the transition from Warner to Williamson was smoother, considering that their leadership styles are different.
"It's been an easy transition for our team, given that Kane's been part of the Hyderabad set-up for a few years.Those who were there in previous years were very familiar with Kane as a person and a lot of people sort of forget the fact that even though you don't have a type as a leader, he naturally offered his leadership around the group. Whether he was in the playing XI or not, I know for certain [that] David Warner relied on him a lot with his advice on match day or outside. So, given that was the history, the actual transition was a very smooth one. I think it's just a case of him adapting to a new environment to captain and the T20 2018 is a unique environment and he's done that like duck to water," said Moody.
Also Read: T20 2018: Who will lift the trophy - Chennai or Hyderabad?
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