Struggling Warner may not play for Sunrisers Hyderabad again

David Warner’s absence from the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s squad against Rajasthan Royals on Monday (September 27) has put a question mark on the top Australian hitter’s future with the beleaguered team this IPL.

In fact, Warner, who has been in a poor form this season, was missing from the team dugout as well, fuelling the speculation that all is not good in the Hyderabad team, which is at the bottom of the table chart with two wins out of 10 and is surely not qualifying to the play-offs.

England opener Jason Roy, who had been waiting in the wings, replaced Warner and made the most of the opportunity. Roy made a quick 60 from just 42 balls, helping his team score a seven-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals.

When Sunrisers Hyderabad’s online fans questioned his absence, Warner responded with a one-line answer: “Unfortunately won’t be again but keep supporting, please.”

Warner’s string of bad performances have continued in the second half of the IPL in the UAE. The Aussie has managed only 181 runs in eight matches so far at an average of 24.37. His strike rate of 107.1 is his lowest in all IPL stints.

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Warner joined Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2014 and was made the captain in 2016, when he led the team to its first IPL title. He was then dropped from the captainship in 2018 following his alleged involvement in the ball-tampering scandal. The gritty cricketer then regained his position as the captain in 2020, but the team’s bad performance in the first half of IPL 2021 in India again led to Warner’s sacking. Media reports suggest Warner did not get along well with Team Director Tom Moody and head coach Trevor Bayliss.

When asked about Warner’s future with the Hyderabad franchise, Bayliss said, “Look, that certainly hasn’t been discussed. This is the last year before the mega auction, those decisions will be made further down the line. He’s (Warner) been a great contributor to Hyderabad for a number of years now and he’s very well-respected. And with the number of runs he’s scored, I’m sure he’s got a lot more runs in him in the IPL.”