It was under David Warner that Sunrisers Hyderabad won their first and only IPL title in 2016. Warner led from the front with a memorable show with the bat during a season when Virat Kohli was at his peak and looked certain to break Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL duck.
However, Warner ended those hopes with a dream IPL season of his own as SRH got the better of RCB in a titanic clash, a result which further raised the profile of the Australian among Indian cricket fans.
But a few years down the line, things started falling apart between Warner and SRH management. He was replaced by Kane Williamson as the captain in 2021 and things seemed to be getting worse when the star Australian batter was seen cheering for the team from the stands instead of representing them on the field.
Warner was later released by the franchise ahead of the mega auction and reportedly was also blocked on social media by the franchise.
Warner, who now represents Delhi Capitals in the league, recalled the phase in a conversation with Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel. The star batter talked about his tainted relationship with SRH, admitting that he was hurt when they blocked him.
“I did feel hurt because it was a sense of, I think, hurt for fans. Fans are the most important relationship that you can have. The engagement that the team has had with the fans, that I had, was very good,” Warner told Ashwin during the conversation.
“I don’t know why I was blocked but I did engage with some of the fans on social media and I felt like it was my duty to keep engaging with them, making sure that they keep coming back. That’s what you value.
“From the blocking point of view, I don’t know why it happened. I’ve been sitting on it for about 5 years. But it was bizarre. But I’ve got the fans who keep coming on my page and I talk to them,” he added.
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Warner likely to return for RR clash
DC head coach Ricky Ponting has hinted that Warner, along with Ishant Sharma, are likely to return for the must-win game at home against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday.
“They both trained yesterday. In fact, Ishant trained three of the last five days. He probably won’t bowl today. We’re pretty happy with what we’ve seen from him over the last couple of days with his bowling. As of now, he’s fit for selection,” Ponting said.
“David Warner had a few days off. He also did some batting yesterday in the nets for about 20 minutes. He’ll go through his final paces today. He’s still yet to be fit, but from what I saw yesterday, he’s a whole lot better than he was a few days ago,” he added.
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