Sehwag said he had told Warner that he can be a "great Test player".
In IPL 2022, the Delhi Capitals (DC) won their fourth game of the season on Thursday (April 28), defeating the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by four wickets. DC chased down the target with an over to spare after restricting Shreyas Iyer's team to 146/9 in 20 overs, owing to David Warner's quick 42 at the top and Rovman Powell's superb cameo effort of unbeaten 33 in the final stages of the chase.
Warner has been in excellent form since returning to the Delhi franchise in IPL 2022, scoring 261 runs in six innings and is now the season's ninth-highest run-scorer. In 2009, the Australian left-handed batter made his IPL debut for the Delhi franchise (formerly Delhi Daredevils), under the captaincy of Virender Sehwag, the swashbuckling former Indian opener.
After the game between DC and KKR, Sehwag spoke with Cricbuzz about Warner's first IPL season and his talk with the Australian batter, in which the former Indian cricketer suggested to him that he might be a "great Test player."
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“When he first came to Delhi (in IPL 2009), he hadn't even played for Australia. I guess he was only playing first-class cricket. I told him, 'you can be a great Test player as well, not just a great T20 player'. He laughed at me and replied, 'you're joking, man',” Sehwag recalled.
The former Indian batter, on the other hand, went on to explain why he believed Warner could rule the roost in the longest format.
“But then I explained to him that you only get a six-over powerplay in T20s. But in Tests, you potentially have an entire day of powerplay! The way you play the game, you will definitely get success in the longest format. And look at him now. He's a great Test player,” said Sehwag.
Since making his debut for Australia in 2011, Warner has played 94 Tests for the country, amassing 7,753 runs and 24 hundreds.
(With Cricbuzz inputs)