Delhi Capitals IPL star David Warner cops criticism after Indian Premier League woes continue
David Warner’s long run of poor form continued in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday, with the Delhi Capitals captain again criticized for his sluggish batting in the side’s fifth straight defeat.
He’s one of the best hitters of the last decade, there’s no question about that, but like so many before him, he’s been on a marked decline over the past three years – and that has extended to the IPL this season.
The Capitals are firmly rooted at the bottom of the ladder after losing to Royal Challengers Bangalore by 23 runs on Saturday night with Warner looking for 19 balls from 13.
Wickets tumbled again for Delhi, with just half a century from Manish Pandey allowing them to scrape to 9-151, well below the 6-174 of Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers.
It’s been a dismal season for Warner and the Ricky Ponting-coached Capitals, with the team winless from five games and the Aussie veteran a long way off form in which he scored the third most points (6,109) in history from 167 games against the phenomenal success rate of 140.
David Warner was frustrated and angry after being dismissed for just 19 off 13 balls in the Delhi Capitals’ sixth straight defeat to start the IPL season
Warner, pictured with his wife Candice, is the third-highest IPL scorer of all time, but he’s had several years of poor form
Warner was left with his head in his hands after Delhi’s dismal start to the season continued on Saturday night
On this occasion, he completely missed a pull shot and holed out as the team fell to 4-30, and Warner admitted after the game that the team would have to ask themselves the tough questions.
“We have to take a good look at ourselves and come back strong with five days off,” he said.
“It’s not going at the moment, but teams have come back from 0-5, so hopefully we can be that second team.
“The positives were great, with our bowling and fielding exceptional. Our attitude and energy were great. But again, it was just our at bat.
“We’ll have to try and figure out how to do the power play and not lose early wickets, especially in the first two or three overs.”
While Warner is actually the second highest scorer in the league with 228 runs, his slow batting percentage of 116 is far below what is required of big money hitters in this modern game.
Incredibly, he has yet to hit a six in 228 runs and 195 deliveries.
It is clear that the seasoned opener is no longer the force he once was – with cricketing legends and fans putting his slow play first for a team in complete disarray and in desperate need of leadership.
However, the argument is still raging in a chicken-vs-egg scenario. Does David Warner’s slow batting pace put too much pressure on the fragile batting setup… or is that setup putting pressure on Warner and causing his slow hitting?
It comes as teammates and legends confronted and questioned the veteran about his game.
After Warner made 51 on Tuesday at the sluggish pace of 47 balls against Mumbai – while Axar Patel made 54 from 25 on the other side – Delhi teammates had had enough.
“Even in the last few games, when he tried to hit, it just didn’t come out,” Patel said of his teammates’ slow batting pace.
“Everyone talked to him… the conversation about his success rate also came up. They’ve watched his videos and he’s working on it.’
Warner was clearly quite frustrated as well. He refused to celebrate his 50th, then slapped his bat in frustration as the anger seeped out.
Warner looks on in disgust after recording a sluggish half-century against Mumbai on Tuesday
The Aussie legend has had a glorious career, but has clearly and significantly declined over the past three years. He is pictured here being bowled during Delhi’s loss to the Titans on April 4
He managed to tangle in Tuesday’s loss to Mumbai with his side firmly rooted at the bottom of the ladder
It did not go unnoticed by legendary Indian fast bowler Irfan Pathan and the ‘voice of cricket’ on the subcontinent, Harsha Bogle.
“How come no one (points) to David Warner’s success rate? He has been playing (sic) with a low blow for quite some time now,” Pathan wrote on social media.
It’s not easy to see David Warner’s great struggle. He’s been very honest about it, but right now it’s not helping DC (Delhi Capitals) get the momentum they need. It was Axar’s brilliance today that took DC to 172,” Bhogle said after the game.
An ex-Warner teammate, Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait, said he could tell the man nicknamed ‘Bull’ was at his wit’s end.
“You can tell he’s pretty frustrated,” he said ESPNcricinfo’s T20 timeout.
“The only reason it’s acceptable is because the other guys around him are pretty poor too.”
Warner and his Capitals will try to get their first win of the season from their sixth attempt on Friday (AEST) when they take on the Kolkata Knight Riders.