Will love to be part of Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2022 but time will tell, says David Warner
Former SRH captain David Warner
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David Warner has said that he would love to represent Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL 2021 as well, adding at the same time that chances of his retention by the franchise was minimal. Warner also asserted that there were 'plenty of runs left in his leg' and he was open to other opportunities.
David Warner has gone through a lot in the IPL 2021, there is no doubt about it. He was sacked from captaincy, dropped in the India leg of the league and later dropped again after being given to chances to cement his place in the playing eleven.
Reports came that he wasn't allowed to travel with the team in the team bus to the stadium. The hard-hitting batsman, through his social media posts, hinted on multiple occasions that the season could very well be his last with the SRH.
In a recent interview with Sports Today, Warner has opened up on his IPL and SRH future. While his desire to continue with the 2016 champions remains, he also knows that chances of it happening are slim.
"My Instagram post was a special one because you don't know what's happening next year. Any time I post something on my social media, it's either my family or people that mean the most to me and SunRisers have given me that opportunity to lead," Warner said.
"The fans have been great, we won an IPL trophy while I was there, a great bunch of guys that I have played with and we don't know what's going to happen next year. There are two new teams, there is going to be a big auction and a lot of that is not up to us.
"Sometimes, you get that feeling that you are not going to be retained with little signs that you can see around the group. From my perspective, I can see the writing was on the wall and it was an appropriate time to say thank you," he added.
"When you get on board with a new franchise, you don't want to be posting too much about the competition so I felt it was the right time to say good bye.
"Hyderabad's my second home, they have treated my family with great respect. Every time I have visited there, people want to give us hugs, speak to the kids and that is the most important thing to me in life. I am grateful for those memories and look forward to what's going to happen in the future."
The Australian opener said he is looking forward for an opportunity to play the IPL in 2022 and added that he has planty of more runs to offer.
"You don't really know your stats until people put it out there. I didn't realise that I almost played 100 games for SRH, I had no clue how good my stats were, without being arrogant. But at the end of the day, it's my job. I enjoyed every moment that I spent in that orange jersey and went out there and played to the best of my ability. That is all I did whether I was opening or whether I played down the order because our team was struggling in that area.
"These are things that are special to me - making a difference in terms of energy at the crease. Sometimes when you are at the top of the order you don't really get to play with the younger players (who come later) and I really enjoyed being able to do that (when I batted lower down the order).
"I would love to be at SunRisers next year, but time will tell. I'd love to be part of the IPL in 2022, started my career with Delhi and then played with SunRisers. There are plenty of runs left in these legs so, I am looking forward to whatever opportunity presents itself," Warner said.
Warner was bought by SunrRisers Hyderabad in 2014 and finished as the Orange Cap holder. He took over as the captain of the franchise in 2015 and led them to their maiden and only title win in 2016.
The 34-year-old is the fifth highest scorer in the IPL with 5,449 runs from 150 games with 4 hundreds and as many as 50 fifties. He has aggregated more than 500 runs 7 seasons in a row from 2014 to 2020.
