David Warner opens up on axe as SRH captain during IPL 2021; says move didn't send the right message

David Warner was conspicuously dropped by SunRisers Hyderabad during IPL 2021. Moreover, he was not retained by the franchise for IPL 2022. Meanwhile, he has opened up on his abrupt exit.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 saw a controversy surrounding Australian opener David Warner and former champion SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH). He was dropped as the side's captain while he was also not included in the XI thereon following a string of low runs. Three months later, the Aussie has opened up on the issue.

If one remembers, it was under Warner leadership that SRH had won its only IPL title in 2016. Although the poor run brought his stint at the franchise to an end, it proved the team and his doubters wrong by helping Australia win the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), besides finishing as the tournament's highest run-scorer.

Also, Warner was restricted to just a spectator during SRH's matches in the closing stages of IPL 2021, as he cheered for his side and waved the flag from the hospitality box. After his axe, he was initially not allowed to travel to the ground with the team and was asked to stay back at the team hotel. It was then that everyone realised that all was not right between the two parties.

Speaking to sports journalist Boria Majumdar, Warner said that dropping a captain like that and banishing him from the team did not send a good message to the young players, and they could be left feeling vulnerable. However, he admitted that he took it in the chin at the end of the day. "I am going to sit here and accept that for what it is because you are not picking me in the team," he told Boria.

SRH finished at the bottom of the table. What hurt the fans the most was that despite being their icon and most celebrated player, he was given an abrupt exit by the franchise. "It was the pain that I knew was going to hit the fans. They are what makes a franchise. They grow your brand. The greatest teams in the world have icon players," Warner reckoned.

Warner could only lead the side in six matches before being replaced by Kane Williamson as the skipper. He stated that he felt for the fans, as he gives it all wherever he plays and connects with the fans quickly. "Those kids in the playground wanting to be Sachin, Virat, myself, Williamson, Steve Smith; you name those players, they want to be us. We have to connect with them," he concluded.