The Australian ball-tampering scandal is having its impact on the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well. After Steve Smith was removed as Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain, David Warner has stepped down from the captaincy post of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ahead of the IPL 2018. Both Smith and Warner were involved in the ball-tampering incident during third South Africa vs Australia Test in Cape Town. "In light of recent events, David Warner has stepped down as captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad. The new captain of the Team will be announced shortly," K.Shanmugam, the CEO of the franchise, said.

While it is certain now that Warner won’t lead Sunrisers in the IPL 2018, we take a look at possible candidates who can replace the Australian as the captain of the franchise. Luckily for SRH, they managed to pick few players in their squad at the IPL 2018 auction who have an experience of captaining the side at an international level.

Shakib Al Hasan: The Bangladesh captain is the first name that comes to mind as an ideal replacement for Warner. The all-rounder, who has a decent IPL experience playing for KKR, was snapped by SRH at this year’s auction. With Bangladesh not playing any series in near future, Shakib will be available throughout the IPL 2018 season. The all-rounder, however, has not played much cricket after recovering from a finger injury.

Shikhar Dhawan: Sunrisers can also think about handing the captaincy duty to one of their senior players. Dhawan has been with the franchise since 2012 season and knows the team better. However, Dhawan is not used to captaincy pressure and that could hamper his batting performance.

Kane Williamson: Another possible player who can lead Sunrisers is New Zealand captain Kane Williamson. Williamson brings in loads of international experience and thus can be an ideal replacement.

Carlos Brathwaite: The Windies all-rounder can be a surprise pick for a captaincy role. But Brathwaite is captain of Windies T20I side and that might work in his favour. The all-rounder looks like will be a regular in the SRH playing XI and thus he seems to be a decent choice as the captain.

Wriddhiman Saha: Another surprise pick can be Indian wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha. A keeper ideally is a best choice for captaincy role and Saha is well acquitted with the conditions as well. So, SRH think tank can make a bold decision and hand him the responsibility.

Meanwhile, BCCI has decided to follow Cricket Australia (CA) and has banned both Smith and Warner from this year's IPL. Both Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad will name their replacements.  CA, earlier today, banned the duo for 12 months.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 28, 2018 02:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).