Hyderabad, Mar 28 (IANS): Disgraced Australian opener David Warner has decided to step down as captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), starting April 4.

"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," Sunrisers CEO K. Shanmugam announced on Twitter on Wednesday.

The franchise is set to announce a new skipper in the next few days, with India opener Shikhar Dhawan being tipped as the front-runner to the job.

Warner had previously led Hyderabad to the IPL title in 2016 while ending up as the highest run-getter in the 2015 and 2017 editions of the cash-rich tournament.

Warner was recently stripped off the vice-captaincy of the Australian side after the infamous ball tampering saga in the third Test against South Africa.

He, along with his skipper Steve Smith, and fellow opener Cameron Bancroft were sent back home with Cricket Australia naming Tim Paine as the captain for the fourth Test against the Proteas.