David Warner meets adversity and shows it the door - again!
Turbulence and David Warner aren't exactly strangers to one another. Time has been testament to the Australian's roller coaster ride of a career in competitive cricket. So much so that it has been a career of intense scrutiny, as much off the cricket pitch as on it.
David Warner and his pyrotechnics in T20 cricket need no re-introduction. For a man who made his international debut even before he played a first-class game, Warner's reputation as a T20 superstar has been well-documented. Yet, the ride to this stardom has been far from smooth for the New South Welshman, with many a bump along the path.
What makes the journey all the more remarkable is that a number of these adversities could have pulled the man down and potentially put a stop his international career for good. Cricket has thrown out many such instances in years gone by and at one stage, it seemed as though David Warner would fall prey to their effects.
David Warner's comebacks post multiple setbacks
The year was 2013. Australia were taking part in the ICC Champions Trophy in England, which was to be followed by a marquee Ashes series also held on English territory. The Australian and English players were at a bar post their bout in Birmingham, when David Warner punched Joe Root in the wee hours of the morning.
What followed was an indefinite suspension on the part of Cricket Australia that resulted in Warner dropping out of the remainder of the tournament. Warner was also benched in the first two Ashes tests, which Australia went on to lose. Mind you, he had very much established himself as a mainstay in the test match format by then.
Warner took part in the rest of the series and played a massive role in Australia regaining the urn later that year in the return leg played at home. Runs continued to flow at will for the southpaw across all formats and the purple patch extended into the next few years. With his bat doing the talking, David Warner had become a household name in world cricket.
The scene now cuts to March 2018. Warner is the vice-captain of the test side and has been tipped for captaincy in the limited-overs formats. He led the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to glory in the 2016 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), and was at the peak of his powers.
Then came another massive jolt— part of the leadership group that orchestrated the sandpaper gate controversy, David Warner was handed a 12-month ban by Cricket Australia. In the press conference that followed, an emotional Warner publicly acknowledged that he might never play for Australia again. He stared down the abyss of a lifetime ban on leadership roles to accompany the playing ban.
Comeback 2.0
With Australia struggling in the absence of David Warner and Steve Smith, both batters walked back into the XI after the completion of their bans. And there began yet another redemption story for Warner.
The redemption was two-fold— having topped the run-scoring charts in the IPL, Warner led the way with the bat for Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. It was then followed by a catastrophic Ashes series where he could muster all of 95 runs across 10 innings. Stuart Broad had his number right through the series, and issues outside the off-stump crept in out of nowhere.
That said, the run machine was at his fluent best back home— a maiden test triple-hundred against Pakistan in Adelaide saw David Warner dictate terms like only he can. He was back.
Warner was also reinstated as captain of a team he had become synonymous with. Having led Sunrisers Hyderabad to another playoff finish in IPL 2020, the good days were back. This period also saw a different side of Warner off the field— his dance videos on Instagram had turned him into a cult hero, especially in India.
But destiny had other plans for him in the form of another setback. Stripped of his captaincy halfway through the season and relegated to the bench, David Warner running the drinks at Sunrisers Hyderabad was a sight beyond the realms of possibility. And yet, that is exactly what happened!
Over the years, David Warner at SRH has attained the status of an icon. It wouldn't be wrong to draw parallels with Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and M.S. Dhoni at their respective franchises. And it was this icon who was made to sit out— one who had consistently proven himself to be be a 500-run bank (at the very least) for the side, even when not at his fluent best.
A second leg in the UAE too didn't bode well for Warner. While he did return to the playing XI, it was for a mere two games. And while the reasons his absence from the had become more apparent this time around, fancy David Warner rooting for his teammates from the hotel room! Oh, it happened alright!
Such jolts are never easy on a player. Especially for a player of Warner's stature in this format. Qualms over him delivering in the T20 World Cup were abuzz, and it was anybody's guess as to what would transpire.
The World Cup of David Warner
Anybody's guess for only those in doubt, of course. For those backing reputation and refusing to write off a player of his caliber, they were sure it was only a matter of time. And with a fluent half-century against Sri Lanka, the seeds for the latest chapter in David Warner's redemption story were sown.
Be it teeing off from the outset against Bangladesh and the West Indies to improve the team's net run-rate, or seeing off the initial phase of a rampaging Shaheen Shah Afridi spell, Warner had it all sorted out. He was clear on when to attack, when to hang back and when to let his partner do the striking. This was the David Warner we have come to see these many years.
The pocket rocket who exploded onto the T20 arena with a breathtaking approach also had a lot of smarts to him. Not for no reason is he an IPL-winning captain now, is he? The best account of the same was given in the big finale when he mowed down Ish Sodhi in the middle-overs to completely unsettle him. For a man who had enjoyed a fruitful campaign until then, Sodhi had no clue how to deal with Warner's belligerence.
The rest was history of course. But the biggest takeaway from Warner's latest redemption— one that saw him crowned the Player of the Tournament— was that fairytales do exist. Belief exists in sport. Above all, there is room for hope. A tweet from his better half just summed up the emotions the family was going through - it was a sweet turnaround indeed.
Out of form!! 😳🤣 twitter.com/cricketcomau/s…
From being confined to the status of a spectator in the stands just over a month ago to catapulting his country to a World Cup triumph at the same venue, life has come quite a remarkable circle for David Warner.
If anything, this may well be the beginning of another purple patch for David Warner. With the Ashes looming, the Australian think tank won't be complaining either. There may be yet another epilogue in this Warner-comeback saga come December 8.