I actually think people talking about my form is quite funny: Warner

Australian opener David Warner feels it's "quite funny" that the people think he is out of form. The 35-year-old has only played nine T20s this year and averages less than 24. The left-hander only featured in two encounters in the second half of IPL 2021 before being dropped from the playing XI for the rest of the season. Warner scored only one run in the two warm-up games and was then dismissed for 14 in the T20 World Cup opener against South Africa.

"From my perspective, I actually think people talking about my form is quite funny. I laugh at the matter because at the end of the day I've played hardly any cricket and then in the IPL I had two games and then they basically wanted to give all the other youngsters a crack, " said Warner ahead of Australia's second game against Sri Lanka on Thursday (October 28).

"From my perspective, that's fine. And warm-up games are warm-up games for a reason. The other day (against South Africa) I got my benchmark back with where I should be with my feet and everything. I feel like I’m in a good space, I’m hitting the ball well in the nets, I couldn’t be any more ready to go. The other day (against South Africa) I felt like I was one boundary away from having a good innings.”

Warner has a superb record against Sri Lanka in the shortest format of the game. The opener has smashed 447 runs in 12 T20Is at an average of 55.88 and a strike rate of 136.7. His only T20I century also came against Sri Lanka in October 2019.

Warner revealed that he has been practicing against 'wangers' (a throwing tool used by coaches) on synthetic surfaces to sharpen his footwork against Sri Lanka's pace duo of Lahiru Kumara and Dushmantha Chameera.

"My batting coach at home Trent Woodhill flicked me a text and just said to me to try and get back on the ‘syntho’ (synthetic pitches) again and get your feet moving. It's something I have done at home before.

"It's one of those things that you want to feel bat on ball … But it also makes you start moving your feet a little bit more because it's difficult to get in positions where we're so used to the ball coming onto the bat.

"If you don't get your feet in the right positions and your weight moving forward through the ball, and you're practicing bad habits at training because you're not able to get that volume in."