Warner 'shocked and disappointed' to miss out, we had to make the hard call: Moody

Opening batsman David Warner was dropped for the first time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) match against Rajasthan Royals in Delhi. Warner, who has been in charge of SRH since 2015, led them to the title in 2016 and made it to the playoffs on each occasion after that. However, this season, he has struggled for form and SRH managed to win just one in six outings. Kane Williamson was named SRH captain as a result, but the Australian batsman was left out from the XI to make way for Mohammad Nabi.

SRH Director of Cricket Tom Moody revealed that Warner was shocked and disappointed to miss out, but they had to make the hard call. "We had to make the hard call, somebody has to miss out and unfortunately it's him. He's shocked and disappointed. Anyone would be disappointed," Moody told the host broadcasters Star Sports before their match against Rajasthan Royals.

Warner was believed not to be on good terms with the team management after they had a disagreement over Manish Pandey's place in the XI. Pandey was dropped for a couple of matches and Warner put that down to the 'selector's call.' "He has come to terms with the logic behind what we want to achieve from a franchise's perspective. He has rallied around the team and more importantly, the team has rallied around him," Moody said.

"I don't think what's happened in the past isn't as relevant and we have made some significant changes in the ground in the last 24-48 hours," he further added.

With Warner absent from the top, Abdul Samad will open for SRH along with Jonny Bairstow. SRH also have the option of having Jason Roy, who has built many memorable partnerships with Bairstow for England, at the top.