‘What message does that send?’: David Warner opens up on losing Sunrisers Hyderabad captaincy

Australia batter and an Indian Premier League (IPL) stalwart David Warner has opened up about his unceremonious sacking as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain.

Warner, the IPL’s all-time highest run-getter among overseas cricketers, was removed from his post by SRH mid-way through IPL 2021. The left-hander was replaced as SRH captain by New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson.

The attacking opener had a string of low scores in the 14the edition of the IPL which was played in two parts — first in India and then the second leg in UAE a few months later due to the pandemic situation in India.

Warner said the fact that his removal may have sent out a demotivating message to the youngsters of the SRH, “hurt” him the most.

“What hurt me the most is that the other guys are now thinking, ‘oh, this could happen to me’,” Warner told cricket historian and broadcaster Boria Majumdar on his show ‘Backstage with Boria’.

The Australian stalwart was later on dropped from the playing XI and was seen watching the proceedings from the stands. Warner’s absence in the SRH dugout during the end of the group stage created a lot of buzz on social media.

“If you are going to drop a captain and then not pick him in the team after what he has done, what message does that send to the young kids in the team?” Warner said. He further asked what message did that send to the rest of the group.

Warner also advised the SRH team management to be more open about hard conversations like these.

He said if they want to have ‘those’ conversations, they can just have them. “Don’t shy away from them. I am not going to bite. I am going to sit here and accept that for what it is because you are not picking me in the team,” the 2016 IPL-winning skipper said.

The left-hander also spoke about the fans, who might have felt hurt seeing how things unfolded in the SRH camp.

Warner backs India Test captain Virat Kohli

Warner also spoke about Virat Kohli’s prolonged dry patch in the longest format of the game. The opener, who has played a lot of cricket against Kohli said he is “allowed” to fail at times.

Warner asserted that while many people have talked about Kohli’s form recently, the Indian skipper is “allowed to fail”. “We have gone through a pandemic and he has just had a baby,” Warner added, stating that people only see how Kohli has performed.

The Australian batter also drew comparisons with teammate Steve Smith and said they are all human beings at the end of the day.

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