"When you are dropped, stripped of captaincy without a reason, it hurts" - David Warner on SRH saga

David Warner said he was hurt after being dropped from SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) playing XI for 'no fault of his own'. He said he was stripped of the captaincy "without being given a reason."

Warner was not in the best of form in the first half of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. He first had his captaincy taken away from him and then he was dropped from the team.

With Jonny Bairstow unavailable in the second half of the IPL 2021, he came back into the side. However, as his middling form continued, he was dropped again.

In an interview with Economic Times, Warner said:

"When you are dropped from the team you have loved the most for years without any real fault of yours and stripped of captaincy without being given a reason, it hurts."

He said, however, that he had no complaints and that he was happy to play for his fans.

"At the same time there are no complaints. The fans in India have always been there for me and it is for them that you play. We play to entertain. We play to push for excellence," Warner said.

He said that despite being dropped, he never stopped training hard and that he knew things would eventually fall in place for him.

"Whatever may have been the reason for me not finding a spot in an IPL team, I can tell you I was training the hardest I ever did. I didn’t not miss a single day. I was batting extremely well in the nets and it was only a matter of time before it all started to work out. So yes, while it hurt, I knew I will have another opportunity," Warner said.

Warner has been with SRH since 2014 and had taken over the captaincy since the 2015 season. He even led them to their only IPL title in 2016.

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"Matter of time before the runs started to flow" - Warner on his form in the 2021 T20 World Cup

David Warner found his footing during the 2021 T20 World Cup. He went on to finish as the second-highest run-scorer with 289 runs in the tournament as Australia won their maiden men's title.

Warner was named Player of the Tournament with three half-centuries, including one in the final against New Zealand.

Speaking about how he found his form, Warner said:

"Even in the final, if you see, I had scored 25 of 25 balls before I pushed on. That’s how things shape up on occasions. From the very start of the innings, I was middling the ball and was feeling good in the middle."

He talked about how Mitchell Marsh's innings helped him express himself freely. He added:

"Mitch played a stellar hand and there was no pressure on me. I knew if I stayed there, I will be able to play my shots and it was just a matter of time before the runs started to flow. If you know you are batting well and are confident there is just no reason to think negative. I never did and it worked."

Warner is now looking forward to spending some time with his family before gearing up for the upcoming Ashes series Down Under.