David Warner, who was axed as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain on Saturday, has now been dropped from the team’s playing XI versus Rajasthan Royals on Sunday.
SRH director of cricket Tom Moody confirmed about the development ahead of the match. Jonny Bairstow and newly-appointed captain Kane Williamson will be the two specialist overseas batsmen for SRH in the match.
“David Warner will no be playing in this particular game. It’s purely a decision based on combinations. We have sort of come to a conclusion that at this stage that 2 overseas batsmen, an all-rounder and Rashid Khan is our best combination. We looked it very closely. Obviously, Bairstow’s form and Kane Willaimson’s form is at a great height and we are very thrilled on the way they are playing. We had to make a hard call and someone had to miss out and unfortunately David Warner at this occasion,” Tom Moody said.
On being asked about the southpaw’s reaction on back-to-back massive calls with him at the centre of it, the former Australia cricketer revealed that Warner ” was shocked”. Moody added that the opener has also come in terms with what the team was trying to achieve.
“He was obviously shocked and disappointed. You would be disappointed if he wasn’t feeling like that, any elite sportsman, they want to be playing, they want to be proving themselves and doing there best they can for the team. But he has come to terms with the logic behind what we are trying to achieve from a team and franchise perspective. He has rallied around the team but more importantly the team has rallied about him,” Moody added.
On Saturday, SRH in an official release announced that New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson will take over the captaincy, adding that the decision to remove Warner wasn’t easy because of his “enormous” impact on the franchise over the years.
“Sunrisers Hyderabad would like to announce that Kane Williamson will be taking over the captaincy for tomorrow’s match and for the remainder of IPL 2021.
“The team management has also made the decision that they will be changing their overseas combination for tomorrow’s match against Rajasthan Royals.
“This decision has not come lightly as the management respects the enormous impact David Warner has had for the franchise over a number of years. As we face the remainder of the season we are sure David will continue to help us strive for success both on and off the field,” SRH had said.
