David Warner, one of the giants of the Indian Premier League, has again been dropped by Sunrisers Hyderabad, the team where he has become idolised.
The Australian opener, whose run-scoring at Hyderabad has made him perhaps the most successful of all IPL exports, had the team’s captaincy stripped from him in the spring and on Monday he was left out of their team altogether for a second time this season in Dubai.
It was another big call to ditch the 34-year-old hero from the team following his two failures with the bat since the league resumed after its COVID-19-related break, even though Warner had also been sidelined for one match in May before the interruption.
Sunrisers’ Australian coach Trevor Bayliss explained that Warner and other senior members of the squad had been left out to give an opportunity to younger players as Hyderabad are already out of contention for a playoff place.
It proved to be the correct decision as Warner’s replacement Jason Roy inspired the struggling Sunrisers to a seven-wicket win, just their second victory in ten matches of this year’s interrupted tournament.
(Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images)
The English World Cup star Roy, who’s been twiddling his thumbs waiting for a chance while Warner’s been struggling, gave them fresh impetus with his knock of 60, which along with captain Kane Williamson’s unbeaten 51, steered Sunrisers to 3-167 and a victory over Rajasthan Royals with nine balls to spare.
Warner, who led Hyderabad to their maiden IPL title in 2016 and has scored more than 4000 runs for them, has paid the price for a season where he’s not only been down on runs but where his scoring rate has dropped from its usual impressive 140 to a sluggish 108.
The highest-scoring overseas player in the league’s history, who lies in fifth place among all IPL scorers with 5449 runs, has only compiled 195 from his eight knocks this season, while his two innings since the league’s resumption saw him score nought and two.
Hyderabad chased down Rajasthan’s 5-164, compiled largely off the back of skipper Sanju Samson’s 82 off 57 balls, with some comfort thanks to the blistering start given to them by Roy, whose 60 came off 42 balls, featuring eight fours and a six.
Williamson, who took over the captaincy from Warner in May, was his usual masterful self, hitting the winning boundary off Mustafizur Rahman.
“Good to be on the right side. We want to build on this, want to see the younger players take their opportunity and enjoy the cricket,” said the New Zealander with what cannot have been the most comforting message for Warner, who’ll be 35 next month.
Roy took full advantage of his first innings this season, dominating two half-century stands with Wriddhiman Saha (18) and Williamson, while hitting left-arm spinner Rahul Tewatia for three fours and a six in one over.
© AAP
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