IPL 2021: Might be the last time we see David Warner in the Orange Army – Dale Steyn

South Africa’s gun fast bowler Dale Steyn believes that this might be the last time when we see David Warner in the Orange Army. On Saturday, the franchise decided to sack David Warner from the captaincy role and handed over the leadership reins to Kane Williamson.

The team also mentioned in its press release that they will be changing their overseas players.

Surprisingly, the team decided to drop David Warner from the final XI in the match against Rajasthan Royals and instead played Mohammed Nabi, which was a shock for a lot of cricket boffins.

Warner has thus far struggled to get going in the ongoing season as he has scored 193 runs at an average of 32.13 and a paltry strike rate of 110.28. However, there is no doubt that Warner is one of the best of the T20 batsmen in the world and dropping him from the final XI was a difficult pill to swallow.

Furthermore, Warner has scored 28.68% of SRH runs in a minimum of 50 innings, which is the highest for any player. The southpaw has carried the team on his shoulders but it is speculated that his relations with the franchise is not healthy.

Dale Steyn said while talking to ESPN Cricinfo, “It’s strange that he isn’t a part of the playing eleven. It’s understandable if they want to change ownership of captaincy for next season, and keep Kane there. But David is still a phenomenal batter and I would still keep him in the eleven. But this might be the last time we see Warner in the Orange Army.”

Meanwhile, David Warner had earlier revealed that the selectors had taken a harsh call to drop Manish Pandey from the playing XI and it could have led to his ouster, according to Steyn. Pandey had struggled to get going in the first three matches and couldn’t finish the game in the first two matches despite being settled at the crease.

“I don’t know if David Warner may have questioned some of the decisions, maybe when Manish Pandey was left out. Sometimes, the management doesn’t appreciate that, I guess. The captain of the team also needs to take ownership of his squad and who’s going out on the field. Seems like there’s definitely something happening behind closed doors that the public is not aware of,” concluded Dale Steyn. 

There is no doubt that Warner should be back in SRH’s playing XI as he is one of their best batsmen. SRH will next play against defending champions Mumbai Indians at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on 4th of May.