Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has backed struggling opener David Warner and said doubting the swashbuckling southpaw “is an absolute no-no” despite his poor form ahead of their ICC T20 World Cup 2021 opener against South Africa on October 23.
Warner’s horror run of form in the lead-up to the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 continued, the experienced opener was dismissed for a first-ball duck, having edged a delivery from Tim Southee to Martin Guptill in the slips, during a T20 World Cup warm-up game against New Zealand on Monday.
Well, his form has been a big concern for Australia, but Maxwell is confident that the out-of-form Warner will turn things around in the T20 World Cup 2021 and warned that the rivals should write off the stalwart at their “own peril”.
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Maxwell told Espncricinfo: “If you ever doubt Davey, it's an absolute no-no. You know he's going to turn it around. He's a superstar of all three formats. He's made so many runs. He's going to go down as one of the greats of the game. Unfortunately, he got Martin Guptill'd (caught Guptill bowled Southee) on Monday with an absolute hanger. Gup seems to do that a lot against us.”
He added, “Those sorts of things happen when you're searching for it. But you know when he gets out there come game time, come the 23rd October against South Africa, regardless of what happens in the next practice game, you know he's going to hit the ground running. He's going to be a big player for us.”
Meanwhile, Maxwell also believes that Mitchell Marsh will have a big T20 World Cup 2021 while hailing the all-rounder. He said Marsh looks extraordinary at the moment.
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The all-rounder further noted, “I think Mitchell Marsh is going to have a massive tournament. I don't think I've seen anyone hit the ball better, ever. We all gather around his net and just watch him hit the ball. It's been pretty extraordinary to watch him go about his business at the moment. I'd be really surprised if he didn't have a really good tournament.”
He signed off by saying, “He's got his bowling as well. His presence around the group regardless of what he's doing is second to none. He's the guy everyone wants in their team, he's flying at the moment, so I'm expecting him to have a good tournament.”
(With IANS Inputs)
