David Warner had a forgettable Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. The man who led the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to their only title win in 2016, was sacked from his post midway following a few poor knocks. Towards the business end of the season, he was even dropped from the playing XI and was seen sitting in the stands cheering for his depleted side.
The franchise made several changes to the mix, which also included Warner’s sidelining, to enhance the performance but there were no positive results visible. SRH ended 8th on the points table with only three wins and six points.
Warner’s disappointment was clear on his face when he failed to get runs or got dropped from the playing XI. A triumphant journey in the T20 World Cup 2021 and the Player of the Tournament award might have brought some respite to him but he was actually hurt due to the snub. He revealed his part of the story in a conversation with renowned journalist Boria Majumdar.
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“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? What message does that send to the rest of the group? What hurt me the most is that the other guys are now thinking, ‘oh, this could happen to me’,” said Warner.
“At the end of the day, whatever happens, cop it on the chin. If you want to have those conversations, just have them. It’s not hard. 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,” he further added.
After leading SRH in the first six games of IPL 2021, Warner was sacked as captain and Kane Williamson was given the responsibility. The seventh game saw the Australia opener getting dropped while he missed the last few games during the UAE leg as well.
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“They really felt it and it hurts me because I am passionate about where I play. I will connect in any way I can with the fans because I know how important fans are. Those kids in the playground wanting to be Sachin, Virat, myself, Williamson, Steve Smith – you name those players, they want to be us. We have to connect with them. If they see something like that, it hurts them,” Warner concluded.
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