IPL 2021: Did SRH sack captain David Warner for questioning selectors?

One knows that a team is in crisis when the leadership roles are changed midway. For a team renowned for its consistency in the Indian Premier League, maintaining an unbeaten streak of Playoff qualifications from 2016, the Sunrisers Hyderabad have gone in the opposite direction in 2021, losing five of their first six games and tottering at the bottom of the table.

The management’s decision to toss the captain’s role to Kane Williamson for the remainder of the tournament has raised a few eyebrows, which was bound to happen given the kind of record both as a batsman and captain Warner has had in the league. But 2021 has been far from that. Neither with bat nor as a leader has Warner managed to fire and that frustration had started to show even on the field.

Warner struggled to middle the ball during his team’s clash against Chennai Super Kings and he later took complete responsibility for his “slow batting”. For a batter who has been known as one of the most aggressive; who can unsettle any bowler’s rhythm on any occasion, Warner has struck at a meager 110.28 for his 193 runs in six IPL outings in 2021.

One of the leading run-scorers in the league (5447 in 148 games, Average – 42.22, SR – 140.13), Warner was heard groaning multiple times out of frustration against CSK where he notched up his 50th IPL fifty – most for any batter in the league – but ended up consuming 55 deliveries for 57 runs. While the combined result of his failure with the bat and as a leader has perhaps urged the management to take the strict call, there might just be a tad more to it.

Was Warner sacked for being critical of his team management?

Warner was publicly critical in the assessment of the “selectors” call to drop Manish Pandey. “It was a harsh call in my opinion. But at the end of the day, it is a decision of the selectors to do that,” he said after the Super Over loss against Delhi Capitals.

In his statement, Warner did not name any individual(s), which is why it cannot be ascertained who the selectors were that he was referring to. However, the only possible remain Tom Moody, head coach, Trevor Bayliss assistant coach, Brad Haddin, and team mentor VVS Laxman.

Pandey’s replacement, Virat Singh, labored his way to a 14-ball 4, however, Warner backed the youngster. “You can’t discredit Virat. He’s a very good player and on this surface, not getting too much time out there, it’s very difficult,” defended Warner.

Meanwhile, the ex-skipper is understood by the franchise to “continue to help” them “strive for success both on and off the field.” While the management has not yet named any contender, having taken the call that “they will be changing the overseas combination for tomorrow’s match against Rajasthan Royals”, Jason Roy, who the franchise called in as cover for opted-out Mitchell Marsh, might be the one.

The leadership change is set to come in effect from tomorrow. “Sunrisers Hyderabad would like to announce that Kane Williamson will be taking over the captaincy for tomorrow’s match and for the remained of the IPL 2021”, read the official release by the franchise, which also mentioned the “enormous impact that David Warner has had for the franchise over a number of years,” read the official press release.