David Warner will want to show Australia that they made a mistake by deciding that he can never become the captain: Aakash Chopra
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has opined that David Warner can show the Australians that they made a mistake by keeping him out of consideration for captaincy with his leadership skills in IPL 2020. He made this observation while doing a SWOT analysis of the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
Aakash Chopra named David Warner as the Sunrisers Hyderabad's Tournament Protector for IPL 2020, who is a player who would play all the matches and bring the team back on track when they are having a lean run.
"In my opinion, their Tournament Protector is David Warner. Last year when he started the season he said that he will score 500 runs and he scored more than that."
The reputed commentator labelled David Warner as one of the greatest overseas players in the history of the IPL, considering the consistency the Aussie opener has shown over the years.
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"He is actually an IPL GOAT, if we talk about overseas players then he is actually one of the greatest of all time in the history of the IPL. It is not easy to be so consistent with that strike rate."
Aakash Chopra highlighted David Warner's proficiency against both spin and pace in the shortest version of the game while observing that the latter plays a long innings despite being explosive in the powerplay overs.
"He gets stuck against spin when he plays Test cricket in the subcontinent but when he plays T20, especially in the IPL, he doesn't get out to spin. And he demolishes the fast bowling attack. He makes the best use of the first 6 overs and plays a long innings as well."
The former KKR opener said that leading Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL would give David Warner the perfect opportunity to show the Australian board that they have committed a mistake by keeping him out of consideration for the captaincy post the 'Sandpapergate' scandal.
"And now he is a captain, so he will have more responsibility and he has a point to prove as well. It is already decided that he can never become the Australian captain after the Sandpapergate scandal. So he is getting the captaincy here only and he will want to show that they have made a mistake and that he is still a very good captain."
Aakash Chopra on the match-winners in the Sunrisers Hyderabad lineup including David Warner
Talking about the strengths of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Aakash Chopra pointed out that the team has always performed better than their capabilities, with the number of match-winners in their squad as their biggest plus point.
"Sunrisers Hyderabad is always punching above their weight, the team environment is absolutely outstanding. Sunrisers Hyderabad's biggest strength are the match-winners they have got."
The 42-year-old named David Warner and Jonny Bairstow as the match-winners at the top of the order while also opining that Kane Williamson could prove to be a great asset in the UAE conditions.
"They have two match-winners at the top in David Warner and Jonny Bairstow. Kane Williamson is perhaps not a match-winner but he will grow in stature in the UAE."
He also called out Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the three match-winners in Sunrisers Hyderabad's bowling attack.
"In the form of Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, they have three bowlers who are match-winners."
Aakash Chopra signed off by lauding the team bonding in the Sunrisers Hyderabad unit, with the squad always performing well in unison.
"And they play together as a unit. That's been their strength. They are happy as a unit and when you pray for each other's success, then the team becomes amazing and that is their strength."
David Warner is the highest run-scorer among overseas players in the IPL with 4706 runs to his name, at an excellent average of 43.17 along with an impressive strike rate of 142.39. The opening batsman was also the recipient of the Orange Cap last year, emerging as the top run-getter in IPL 2019 with 692 runs to his credit.