Hyderabad: India player Shikhar Dhawan will lead Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Champions League Twenty20 this season starting Tuesday.

The left-handed opener has been entrusted with the responsibility after Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara decided to play for his home side Kandurata Maroons in the same tournament.

“Meet the new #SRH Captain for #CLT20! Utho, Chalo, Let's #RiseUp!” read a post on Sunrisers Hyderabad team’s Twitter handle on Saturday with Dhawan’s picture below it.

Dhawan will lead the Hyderabad-based team that boasts of star players like former West Indies captain Darren Sammy, Jean-Paul Duminy, Dale Steyn and Cameron White.

Dhawan has been in phenomenal form ever since he scored a blistering 187 on his Test debut against Australia in Mohali.

In the Indian Premier League this season, Dhawan was the leading run-scorer for Sunrisers even though he had missed the first seven matches due to a hand injury sustained in the Mohali Test.

He had scored 311 runs in 10 matches at 38.87.