Dropping David Warner in IPL 2021 was 'not a cricket decision', says SRH assistant coach Brad Haddin
Brad Haddin has said that dropping David Warner from Sunrisers Hyderabadâs playing XI was not a good decision during the IPL 2021. Warner was sacked from the captaincy during the first phase of the IPL in India and wasnât included in the team after the first two games of the second phase in the UAE.
The 35-year-old had contrasting fortunes in the IPL and the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2021 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. In the two phases of the IPL, he had a horrible time with the bat as he could only manage to score 195 runs in eight games with an average of 24.37 and a strike-rate of 107.73. His fortunes took a U-Turn in the showpiece event as he amassed 289 runs with an average of 48.16, only 14 runs behind Pakistan skipper Babar Azam with 303 runs at 60.60. This performance earned Warner the âPlayer of the tournamentâ as Australia won their first T20 World Cup title.Â
Meanwhile, Haddin shed a light on Warnerâs axing from the SRH playing XI saying that the opening batsmen wasnât out of form, he was out of match practice. He has added that the decision to drop the southpaw was not a cicketing decision and the coaching staff had no control on the "circumstances".Â
"I tell you what it was not a cricket decision that he was not playing for SunRisers Hyderabad. I think the one thing you have to realise with David is that he was not out of form, he was out of match practice. They had a long break, he did not go to Bangladesh or West Indies. But he turned up in really good headspace. He was hitting the ball well, circumstances were out of our control, even the coaching staff," said Haddin on The Grade Cricketers Podcast.
The former Australia wicket-keeper batsman added that the New South Wales-born batsman needed to spend some time in the middle to get his rhythm back.Â
"But it was not because he was out of form. All he needed was some match time, he was hitting the ball well. He just needed to spend some time in the middle to get the rhythm again. As the tournament went on, you have seen his class. He got a bit of rhythm back into his game and he was good to watch," the former Australia wicket-keeper batsman added.
Earlier, Warner has confirmed that he is looking forward to playing for a new franchisee as he is certain that the 2016-champions wonât retain him in the 2022 auctions.Â