David Warner version 2.0 - The moulding of a legend

David Warner is always considered to be a special cricketer from the time he made his debut in 2009 without having any first-class experience. In fact, after 132 years this was the first time something like this happened in Australian cricket history and he never let the selectors down with a blitzkrieg of 89 of just 43 balls. After that inning, a lot was expected of the player but he didn’t live up to the expectations for 2 years. He again played a totally different kind of an inning when he carried his bat in Australia’s defeat to New Zealand in just his second test. This was the knock that proved David Warner has the mettle and temperament to play Test cricket.

Warner showed the other side of his batting when he bludgeoned the Indian bowler’s en route to his 180 at WACA. Things then started to fall apart for the promising cricketer whose attitude got the better of him. The Joe Root punch saga was the lowest point in his career and David Warner invited a lot of criticisms with it. As a result, he was suspended for 6 months. Even during the suspension period, he was involved in a confrontation with a South African wicketkeeper which again gave critics an opportunity to voice their opinion about him. We term that phase – “David Warner Version 1.0”. Version 1.0 was a mixed bag of failures, success and controversies.

Despite having a bag of talent at his disposal, it was his attitude that was branded “thuggish and juvenile” by legendary Martin Crowe. A new Warner came back after the suspension and has been extremely consistent. Though there was not much change in his approach he has successfully established himself as one of the most consistent batsmen across all formats of the game.

He took the Ashes by storm notching 523 runs in the process. Then he took his form to South Africa where he ended up scoring three consecutive hundreds. The sledger Warner was back again and invited some criticism for the “no ball incident” involving Varon Aaron during India’s tour of Australia and he was also involved in another “over-throw incident” with Rohit Sharma.

Also read – The newly unveiled Marlon Samuels 2.0

David Warner had a decent World Cup 2015 in which his most notable contribution was the hundred against Afghanistan. It was after the World Cup that version 2.0 started to serve the purpose. IPL has benefited so many young cricketers and Warner graduated in maturity when he was handed over the captaincy of the Sunrisers Hyderabad. When Warner was appointed as the captain, people expected SRH to really play aggressive cricket and that is what happened.

But the skipper’s approach was calm. He trusted his bowlers, who delivered par expectation. Warner knew the batting relied on him and so went about it without much fuss. Walked out each time and scored the runs, single-handedly winning games for his team. For the first time, all his critics accepted and admire the change. The left-hander himself explained he decided not to drink for a year and this paid rich dividends in his batting.

The changed attitude ensured that he was very consistent and he tuned batting style a little by giving himself some time to settle before playing the extravagant shots. He was Australia’s leading run-scorer in Tests in 2015 and ended up winning the Allan Border Medal.

But it was the IPL that made him a role model; he inspired his team to win their first IPL title. He was unbelievably focused, backed his players and led the team from the front. He piled on the runs single-handely and took his team to the IPL glory. When Praveen Kumar sledged Warner, he just laughed and bothered just about taking his team through.

Also Watch: Praveen Kumar charges at David Warner during the IPL 9 Qualifier 2

Though David Warner the batsman was great in the IPL, it was Warner the captain who stood out. For all his struggles Warner now has put everything to bed and after proving his leadership skills at one of the toughest stages, he finally drank to celebrate SRH’s IPL triumph.

Written by Ashwin Narayanan