The transformation of David Warner from flamboyant batsman to responsible captain

Nobody knows whether he is good at doing a particular thing until he gives it a try. Many people spend their whole life assuming that they do not have a particular skill set to do a certain job.  But who knows! They may surprise even themselves by doing that job better than anybody else. Unearthing an unlikely hidden talent in a person that does not reflect his personality is like carving out a diamond from a coal mine.

It is so because aggressive and flamboyant players have rarely gone on to become successful captains in the history of cricket. However, there have been exceptions; the best example among them is India’s present limited overs captain MS Dhoni. A flamboyant player at the start of his international career, Dhoni went on to become the most successful captain in Indian cricket history with an ICC World Cup, an ICC World T20, and an ICC Champions Trophy to his name. And now it is David Warner who is showing the same set of captaincy skills as Dhoni.

Captaincy is never an easy thing, especially, for an Australian when he is playing in Asia. Australia have been humiliated time and again in the last decade by Asian teams in Asia, and the trend seemed to continue when Australia came to tour Sri Lanka in the previous month under the leadership of Steve Smith, who hadn’t lost a Test match in his stint of 14 matches as a captain prior to this tour.

Although the selectors and team management maintained that the decision was taken in the best interests of the team, it attracted heavy criticism from the fans and the pundits alike. The captaincy duties were handed over to David Warner, and he led a change in the mindset of the Australian players. Australia won the rest of the three ODI matches, thus winning the series 4-1 and later went on to whitewash the T20I series with a 2-0 victory over the Lankans.

He also registered a century, only in his third ODI match as a captain, in the fifth ODI against the Lankans. Often he inspired his team-mates with his solo efforts. Although Glenn Maxwell was the real star of the T20I series, Warner marshalled his troops in an incredible way. In the second T20I, he won the match with his fielding efforts as he converted a couple of half-chances into catches. It is these inspiring moments that matter; this extra energy and effort can add a new dimension and self-belief among each and every player, thus lifting their spirits during tough situations.

The most important thing about Warner’s captaincy is that he is pro-active as a captain. He always seems to be in command of the game and never gives up even if the opposition is on top of the game. It is always a win-win situation for him; if he commits a mistake then he makes sure that he does not repeat it twice. And the most amazing part is that he enjoys captaincy and has full confident in his ability to lead the side. 

The journey of Warner from being an aggressive, and at times casual, batsman to a responsible cricketer, who mixes caution with aggression and looks to bat throughout the innings, has been incredible. He himself sets the bar high for his team-mates with his consistent performances; he makes sure that he can see the same confidence in his team-mates as he has in himself. Now with this performance as a captain of the Australian team, he has certainly given the Australian selectors a headache with the captaincy situation. On one hand, there is Steven Smith who had done a good job prior to the tour of Sri Lanka and, on the other hand, there is Warner who is showing immense potential and promise as a captain. However, it is a good headache to have.