IPL 2019 | David Warner has unquenchable thirst to perform, says Tom Moody

David Warner along with Steven Smith was banned for a period of 12 months for his involvement in the ball tampering scandal in South Africa in a Test series last year. The southpaw was expected to make a comeback for Australia in the ODI series against Pakistan but had to sit out after being operated for an elbow injury. However, he made a staggering return for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League with two blistering half-centuries and an unbeaten century in three matches. 

Sunrisers’ head coach Tom Moody feels that highly-rated players, like Warner, have the determination to perform and in spite of numerous setbacks, the hunger to perform is always there

“David Warner and I think all top players are the same they have got an unquenchable thirst for the game and to have success in the game. That thirst certainly hasn’t been withdrawn by any means,” Moody said, reported PTI.

Moody is of the belief that Warner’s preparation, in spite of staying away from international cricket, is what that has helped him to score so heavily.

“I think we’ve seen over his career what makes him unique as a player. Yes, he’s had to sit out of top-flight cricket, international cricket, for 12 months. But David Warner has been preparing for six months, too, for his comeback,” Moody said, reported PTI.

In the past one year, David Warner played for Randwick-Petersham in Sydney grade-cricket and Sylhet Sixers in the Bangladesh Premier League. He was not away from competitive cricket and the coach opines that this helped him to sustain his performance.

“He’s played a couple of franchise tournaments over that 12-month period. He has obviously played club cricket in Sydney as well. Okay, it’s not the same standard, but he’s been preparing more mentally and technically,” expressed the 53-year-old.

“His game technically is relatively sound, so it’s the case of getting him sorted mentally and he welcomed the start of this tournament and for him to get back on the horse, so to speak,” he added.

Warner is currently the highest run-scorer in this edition of the cash-rich league. The southpaw had to prove himself yet again and he has exactly done that by smashing 254 runs at a staggering strike rate of 175. Moody has claimed that such performance has kept him in good stead.

“He is in a very good place. He has come back full of enthusiasm, full of determination and with a lot to prove,” he said.

The former Australian cricketer was appointed as the coach of the Orange Army for the 2013 edition and has worked with Warner since then. As a result, he’s seen him closely and has disclosed that the 32-year-old always had a positive mindset and also credited the banned trio for the resilience that they have shown.

“He has always had a very positive mindset. He is a very determined and resilient individual. I think to endure what he and (Steve) Smith and (Cameron Bancroft) had to over 12 months there has to be a lot of mental toughness. There has to be a lot of resilience. You could very easily find yourself down for long periods of time,” he stated.

The opening duo of Warner and Jonny Bairstow have been in sublime form and have managed a century partnership in all the three matches played until now. They bettered it with a record double-century partnership in the third match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. A downside of that is the middle order has not been fully tested or exposed to a pressure situation yet. However, Moody dismissed such thoughts by placing full confidence on the middle order that possesses the likes of Vijay Shankar, Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan.

“It’s inevitable that there’s going to be opportunities and times when the middle order has got to carry a substantial amount of the workload in our batting. At the moment, we’ve been fortunate enough to have three hundred-run partnerships in a row at the top of the order. But we’ve got full confidence in our middle order. And our middle order has only been strengthened with the likes of Vijay Shankar coming back. So, I’m sure they are going to welcome the opportunity to accept the challenge when that presents (itself),” he explained.

“We really feel Delhi is a really strong side, a well-rounded side. And there’s a challenge of playing in different conditions. Playing here in Delhi, the adjustments you need to do with bat and ball that are important to be effective."