Australia opener David Warner's reply to fans on Instagram sparked a whirlwind of speculations and prompted many to believe the left-hander might have played his last match for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2021. Warner was left out of the SRH XI for their Indian Premier League against Rajasthan Royals on Monday as the Hyderabad-based franchise made as many four changes to their side.
Warner, who is undergoing his worst season in the IPL, did not travel with the team to the Dubai International Stadium and instead, decided to support his side from the hotel room. Warner also posted stories on Instagram after the Kane Williamson-led side registered their first win of the UAE leg.
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But what gathered interest among cricket followers was Warner's replies to fans in an SRH post on Instagram. The SRH fans expressed their disappointments for not seeing Warner, who has been one of the pillars of the franchise over the years, in the XI.
The opener urged the netizens to keep supporting SRH despite his absence and also dropped a hint that he might not play another match in this year's IPL.
{{/usCountry}}The opener urged the netizens to keep supporting SRH despite his absence and also dropped a hint that he might not play another match in this year's IPL.
{{/usCountry}}When a fan said he wanted Warner to make a strong comeback, the former SRH captain replied: “Unfortunately, won't be again but keep supporting please.”
Warner, who has 5449 runs in the IPL and is among the most consistent overseas performers, has been woefully short of runs this year. He has scored only 195 runs in 8 matches this year and his strike rate of 107.73 is the worst in his IPL career by a fair distance.
This was the second time that Warner was dropped from the SRH XI this year. The attacking left-hander lost his captaincy in the first phase of IPL 2021 and was dropped from the XI. He made a comeback to the SRH XI after the remainder of this league restarted four months later in UAE but managed only 2 runs in two matches.
VIDEO: Sunrisers Hyderabad spoil Rajasthan Royals' party with 7-wicket win
Warner's replacement for Monday's encounter Jason Roy, meanwhile, was the star of the show for SRH. Opener Jason Roy and skipper Kane Williamson struck confident half-centuries to shape Sunrisers Hyderabad's comfortable seven-wicket win.
Opting to bat, the Royals scored 164 for six on the back of a well-calculated 82-run knock by skipper Sanju Samson on a sticky wicket where stroke-making was difficult.
However, the score proved insufficient as Roy (60 off 42) and Williamson (51 not out) led the team to their only second win of the season.