'He was obviously shocked and disappointed' - Tom Moody on David Warner's reaction after being sacked as SRH skipper

Ahead of their game against Rajasthan Royals (RR), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) managed to spring a surprise as they decided to sack their captain David Warner to make Kane Williamson the new leader of the squad. The development came after Hyderabad lost their first five matches out of six played and got placed at the last position on the points table.

The team management also took another shocking decision as they decided to bench David Warner in the match against RR to make way for another spinner Mohammad Nabi in the team. Warner wasn’t experiencing an ideal run in IPL 2021 as in six matches, he has only scored 193 runs at an average of 32.16, and a strike rate of 110.28.

SRH Director of Cricket Tom Moody opined on the reaction of the Warner after being sacked as the captain. Moody revealed that he was shocked and disappointed like every other sportsman would be after receiving such a piece of news.

“He’s been pretty good. He was obviously shocked and disappointed…you know, you’ll be disappointed if he wasn’t feeling that way like any elite sportsman, they want to be playing, they want to be proving themselves and doing their best they possibly can for the team,” Tom Moody said.

David Warner has come to terms with the logic behind what we’re trying to achieve: Tom Moody

Further, detailing his opinion on the exclusion of Warner from the Playing XI, Moody explained that it was a tactical move as the team wants to play with two mainstay spinners. Also, Jonny Bairstow and Kane Williamson are in great form, thus, there wasn’t any question regarding them missing out from the playing XI.

“Firstly, he’s not going to be playing in this particular game. It’s purely a decision based on the combination. We’ve come to a conclusion that at this stage, we feel that the two overseas bat (batsmen), an all-rounder, and Rashid Khan is our best combination. We looked at it very closely,” said the SRH director.

“Obviously, Bairstow’s form and Kane Williamson’s form are at a great height and we are very thrilled that they are playing the way they are. We had to make a hard call, and someone had to miss out. Unfortunately, for Davey (David Warner), on this occasion, it’s him,” he added.

Lastly, SRH’s Director of Cricket asserted that Warner finally came to terms with the decision made by the team management and the overall atmosphere in the squad in positive. “He [David Warner] has come to terms with the logic behind what we’re trying to achieve from a team’s perspective and a franchisee perspective. He’s been terrific since, and he’s rallied around the team. But more importantly, the team has rallied around him,” Tom Moody added.

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