“You need to know the players, get to know their background, their upbringing” - David Warner on what it takes to be a successful captain
Australia cricketer David Warner spoke about his leadership philosophies and the importance of getting to know the players. The 35-year-old has led Australia in limited-over formats and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
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Warner boasts a 100 per cent record leading Australia in ODIs and has only suffered a single loss when captaining in T20Is. He also led the Sunrisers to the IPL title in 2016.
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Speaking on Backstage with Boria, Warner said:
"I think the most important thing is you need to know the players. It's not knowing the players as in, 'Hey mate, how are you?' Get to know what their background has been like and their upbringing. You've got to be able to deal with personality. I'm totally different from someone like a Steve Smith."
Warner, who has been Test vice-captain, elaborated:
"You've got people who've come in from non-privileged backgrounds then you've got people coming from a higher class. How do you gel together? How do I get the best out of this person and that person? I like to get involved in knowing the person, and then I can deliver and can get the best out of the person."
Warner is seen as a potential captaincy candidate by a number of franchises for the 2022 IPL following the full Player auction.
"I'll always be a bowler's captain" - David Warner
Under Warner, Sunrisers put together one of IPL's most potent bowling attacks. He firmly believes in handing over responsibilities to players and unity over the team's brand of cricket.
"For me, give the responsibility to the player. At the end of the day, you're responsible for whether or not you're getting picked in the team on your form. From my perspective, I cannot tell them what to do, I can tell them about the brand of cricket we could play. If we embrace it together, you have my full support. That's how I like to go about it," he said.
Branding himself as a bowler's captain, Warner added:
"I'll always be a bowler's captain. At the end of the day, without your bowlers, you're not a team. You need to be on your bowler's side. I feel like a lot of it's off the field, on the field, it takes care of itself."