I was never explained why I got sacked as SRH captain: David Warner

Australia’s David Warner, who got sacked as Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper during the first leg of IPL 2021, after which he also subsequently got dropped as a player, has revealed that he was ‘never explained’ by the management why he was removed as the franchise’s captain, just six games into the season. 

Warner began IPL 2021 as the skipper of SRH, but was relieved of his leadership duties halfway into the season on the back of a combination of bad personal form and a poor string of team results. He was replaced by Kane Williamson as the skipper, but soon he lost his place in the side as a batsman too, with the southpaw featuring in just two of the last eight games of the season.

Speaking on Sports Today, the 34-year-old revealed that, to date, he does not know why he was sacked, and expressed that he was ‘disappointed’ over the manner in which the situation was handled.

“I am not 100 per cent sure how to answer that. With the utmost respect for the owners, Trevor Baylis, Laxman, Moody and Murali, when a decision gets made, it has to be a unanimous one. You don't know who the person is going for you and who isn't,” Warner told Sports Today.

“The other disappointing thing for me was not being explained why I was dropped as captain.”

Warner captained SRH to their only IPL title in 2016, and also led the franchise to a Qualifier 2 finish last season, where they staged a sensational second-half comeback. The highest run-getter in the franchise’s history, Warner said that he hoped for past performances to have ‘some weight moving forward’, and described his sacking as a ‘tough pill to swallow’.

“If you want to go along the lines of form, it is a difficult one because, I guess whatever you have done in the past would have some weight moving forward, you would think.

“Especially when you have played about 100 games for the franchise, I think I had four bad games in those first five matches in Chennai. It is difficult, a tough pill to swallow. There are still questions to which I think I'll never get answers, but you have to move on.”

With the SRH management having alienated Warner this season, it remains unclear whether the 34-year-old would be retained in the Mega Auction. Warner said that he would love to continue representing the Hyderabad-based franchise, but admitted that the decision is in the hands of the SRH management.

“I would love nothing more than to represent SunRisers but obviously, that decision is with the owners,” he said.