Former Australia opener David Warner has spoken glowingly about his long-time Sunrisers Hyderabad teammate Bhuvneshwar Kumar. In a post on Instagram, Warner described how the India pacer shaped bowling strategies for the franchise during his captaincy. On Tuesday, he wrote on Instagram,

“Another throwback, when it came to orchestrating our bowling strategy at Sunrisers, there’s no one quite like @imbhuvi. I genuinely believe he ranks among the best in the game."

Warner and Bhuvneshwar both joined the Hyderabad outfit in 2014. The side struggled in the early seasons, but the pair formed the backbone of the team. Their partnership was central to Hyderabad’s maiden IPL title in 2016. While Warner ended that season as the second-highest run scorer behind Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar topped the bowling charts with 23 wickets in 17 matches at an economy rate of 7.42.

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Warner had been appointed Sunrisers captain in 2015 and finished as the leading run scorer that season. He carried that form into 2016, producing 69 runs off 38 balls in the final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru to secure Hyderabad’s first championship. In 2017, he struck 126 against Kolkata Knight Riders, his highest IPL score, and once again topped the tournament run charts.

The following year saw turbulence, as Warner stepped down from leadership after the ball-tampering episode in South Africa and missed the 2018 season due to a BCCI ban. He returned in 2019, marking his comeback with 85 runs in the opener and a century against Bengaluru soon after.

Bhuvneshwar, meanwhile, was named vice-captain of Hyderabad in 2018. The franchise bought him back in the 2022 mega-auction for ₹4.2 crores, before releasing him after the 2024 season. The bond between Warner and Bhuvneshwar, however, remains etched as a defining chapter of Hyderabad’s rise in the IPL.