Australia’s mercurial opener David Warner had one of the most embarrassing outings in his Indian Premier League (IPL) career in the recent most season. Not only did he lose his captaincy to Kane Williamson midway in the first half of the IPL 2021, but later lost his place in the XI as well.
SRH finished IPL 2021 at the bottom-most place with just 3 wins in 14 matches. In fact, they won only one match out of 7 played in India which led to SRH management removing Warner as captain. His form fell away as well despite him hitting two half-centuries.
Though he got another chance in the XI when the tournament moved to UAE, Warner managed 0 and 2 and was dropped for good. Things got so bad between him and SRH that Warner was not even present in the dugout and watched the last few matches from either the hotel room or from the stands.
Warner said being left out of the Sunrisers playing XI was a "tough pill to swallow" and confirmed that he will be putting his name in the IPL 2022 auction.
IPL 2022: Old teams to retain 4 players max; new teams to acquire 3 players before auction- Reports
"I will put my name in the auction. By the signs of the recent IPL, I won't be retained by the Sunrisers, so I'm looking forward to a fresh start. I kind of laughed at the reasoning, that two guys were hitting the ball out of the middle a little bit better than I was. Given that when you're playing the game you're playing the scenario," Warner told SEN radio, Australia.
"Obviously there are a lot of moving parts around there. What you have to do as a professional athlete is take it on the chin and do everything you can for the team. Not being able to go there, run drinks, and be around was when it sort of hit home that it could be personal, and I'm still yet to get those answers,” he added.
Warner played 95 matches for SRH from 2014-2021 and made 4014 runs at an average of 49.55 and a strike rate of 142.59. He made 2 centuries and 40 half-centuries for the Orange Army during his stay, apart from winning the IPL 2016 trophy as captain.
(PTI inputs)
