David Warner has shared an update on Kane Williamson’s return after Sunrisers Hyderabad suffered their third successive defeat in IPL 2021.
It has been nothing but a nightmarish start for David Warner-led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the 14th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
David Warner Hints Kane Williamson Is Inching Closer Towards Match Fitness
SRH has played three matches without their talismanic batsman Kane Williamson and the David Warner-led side has failed to register a single win in the ongoing season of the cash-rich league. Hoping to be fit and ready within the 1st week of the IPL, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was made to warm the bench again by the SRH think tank when David Warner’s men locked horns with Mumbai Indians at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday.
Despite tinkering with their playing XI and making four note-worthy changes, SRH failed to finish ahead of MI as they lost the low-scoring thriller by 13 runs.
Speaking after Hyderabad’s dreadful performance against Mumbai at the Chepauk, David Warner was asked about Kane Williamson’s return to the SRH fold in the 14th season of the cash-rich league.
Giving an update on Williamson’s much-anticipated comeback, Warner hinted that the New Zealander is inching closer towards match fitness. “We have to speak to the physios, he’s (Williamson) coming along nicely and plays a big role in our squad,” Warner said during the post-match press conference.
SRH hit rock bottom in the IPL 2021 standings after David Warner-led SRH suffered their third consecutive defeat at the hands of defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) led by skipper Rohit Sharma on matchday 9 of the cash-rich league. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper David Warner has said that New Zealand’s Kane Williamson “might” play in the next game “if he is great to go”.
David Warner’s comment comes after receiving criticism for not including Kane Williamson in its playing XI in the first three matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021). However, Kane Williamson’s fitness has been a key issue for selectors as he suffered an injury during Bangladesh’s tour of New Zealand, following which he was advised to stay off the field.
David Warner: SRH Isn’t Playing Smart Cricket
David Warner also opined that the 2016 champions just need to play smart cricket in the middle overs.
“I don’t know how to take that. Two of us got set, my run out, Jonny stepping on his wickets, and false shots in the middle proved that if you don’t have two guys at the end, you don’t win,” Warner said.
David Warner’s crucial knock of 36 went in vain as speed merchant Trent Boult and spinner Rahul Chahar shared six wickets to help Mumbai outclass Hyderabad by 13 runs.
“These scores are very chase-able, it’s just poor batting. If you get a partnership and have one guy at the end, you can chase down 150 easily. You just need smart cricket in the middle, we aren’t doing that,” the SRH skipper added.
SRH lost to KKR and then to RCB before suffering defeat against Mumbai Indians. They suffered their third straight defeat against Mumbai Indians on Saturday despite making a plethora of changes in the XI. SRH remains the only team without a win in IPL 2021. They will play their next game at the same venue against Punjab Kings on April 21.
SRH decided to make some wholesale changes to their playing XI. Four changes were made to the line-up as Virat Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Khaleel Ahmed were picked for the MI match.
Wriddhiman Saha, Jason Holder, Shahbaz Nadeem, and T Natarajan were dropped from the playing XI. Still, Kane Williamson wasn’t considered but after the team suffered yet another batting collapse, he may return to action soon.
Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 150/5 (Quinton de Kock 40, Kieron Pollard 35*; Vijay Shankar 2/19) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 137 all out (Jonny Bairstow 43, David Warner 36; Rahul Chahar 3/19) by 13 runs.