'Peanut for a great player' -Twitter explodes as Delhi Capitals steal David Warner for INR 6.25 crore

David Warner has found a buyer and he will be on his way to the Delhi Capitals. The 2020 finalists bought the Australian batter on board for a sum of INR 6.25 crore. While the T20 World Cup winner was in the scheme of things of all the teams, it was DC who got it right at the auction table on the given day. He is one of the accomplished players to have played the IPL.

The dynamic Australian opener has made a tremendous impact as a batter and as a captain having led the Sunrisers Hyderabad to their first and only title in the 2016 season. Under Warner’s reign, the Hyderabad-based franchise has also made the playoffs four times. The southpaw looked off-colored last year managing just 195 runs averaging 24.37 at a strike rate of 107.73 that included two-half centuries.

It was indeed a tough 2021 season for the Aussie batter as he was sacked from captaincy midway and was then benched in the second leg after failing in the first game. When all the existing eight teams had announced their mandatory retentions on November 30, 2021, it did not come as a surprise when the former champions decided to part ways with David Warner just months before the IPL 2022 mega auction as they retained the likes of New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson as their captain and first-choice player along with the uncapped Jammu and Kashmir duo of Abdul Samad and Umran Malik.

Here is how Twitter reacted to David Warner’s bidding

Here’s all you need to know about David Warner’s impeccable record

David Warner has the ability to single-handedly take the game away from the opposition. He has played many match-winning knocks for the Orange Army all these years including a quickfire 69 off 38 deliveries against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2016 final. In fact, the two-time World Cup winner has won the prestigious Orange Cap award a record three times in 2015, 2017, and 2019 editions respectively. He is also the fifth-highest run-scorer in the history of the marquee tournament having amassed 5449 runs from 150 matches averaging 41.59 and a strike rate of 139.96 including four centuries and 50 half-centuries.

The above stats are enough to prove Warner’s credentials in the shortest format and therefore, he had to be one of the most sought-after players at the IPL 2022 mega auction listed at the highest base price of INR 2 crore along with his Australian teammates including the likes of Test skipper Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, etc. And, if that was not enough, the elegant opener has also adjudged the Player of the Tournament in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 for scoring 289 runs from seven matches at an average of 48.16 including three half-centuries.