The Sydney Thunder captain, David Warner, has been ruled out of the BBL 2025-26 opener with injury, with Chris Green taking over the leadership duties.
Meanwhile, Charlie Anderson has been brought in as a replacement for Tuesday’s encounter. He has been receiving treatment from the medical team, and the skipper could be ready to make his return for the clash against the Sydney Sixers on Saturday.
Speaking on David Warner’s injury, Sydney Thunder general manager Trent Copeland said, “It’s obviously not ideal to not have Davey but we’d rather be careful earlier in the tournament.”
“I’m confident he’ll be right for our biggest game of the year, the Sydney Smash on Saturday.
“Charlie Anderson is one of the brightest young talents in the whole country, as we’ve seen with Australia A and NSW in recent times.”
JUST IN: @ThunderBBL captain David Warner has been ruled out of tomorrow’s BBL|14 Final rematch through injury. #BBL15 pic.twitter.com/beOWPyOtrh
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 15, 2025
Sydney Thunder has been hit with a massive setback and will have a depleted batting lineup against the defending champions, the Hobart Hurricanes. David Warner was the leading rungetter for the side with 405 runs as the team failed to cross the final hurdle and lost in the finals against the Hurricanes.
His aggressive batting techniques will be missed at the top of the order. The team could try different opening combinations with Sam Konstas likely to open, Cameron Bancroft or Matthew Gilkes.
“It’s more for a match-up and strategic point of view,” Warner said last Friday. “We don’t have that left-hander in the middle that we’ve been looking for.
“It’s just a conversation we’re having … there could be some opportunities where I bat three, I might bat in the middle, it just depends.”
Sydney Sixers updated squad for the opener clash: Chris Green (c), Charlie Anderson, Cameron Bancroft, Sam Billings (England), Ollie Davies, Matt Gilkes, Ryan Hadley, Shadab Khan (Pakistan), Sam Konstas, Nathan McAndrew, Blake Nikitaras, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, Reece Topley (England)
