David Warner Reveals Why He Asked Rohit Sharma To Talk English
Oct 19, 2017 at 11:03 AM
Three years after being involved in a heated exchange with Rohit Sharma, Australia’s star David Warner has revealed why he told the India opener to speak in English. Recalling the incident that took place during the second one-day international of the tri-series at Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2014-15, Warner told Rohit to talk in English so that the latter could’ve been penalised had the world seen him saying the same word in English on the big screen.
“When I went over to say something to him, he sort of said something in their language and I said ‘speak English’ because, if you’re going to say something for me to understand, theoretically I cannot speak Hindi,” he had told Sky Sports Radio.
“So I did the polite thing and asked him to speak in English, therefore he did and I can’t repeat what he said,” he had added.
Warner recently opened up about the incident, telling ESPNcricinfo:
“After the Rohit Sharma incident (I stopped). I felt I had a valid point there, because if I’m going to swear in a different language on the big screen, nobody is going to do something about it. But if I said what he was saying to me, in English, and you could lip read me — I’ll still get in trouble anyway.”
“That’s where I was really disappointed with what happened. Everybody interpreted it the way I actually said. It wasn’t being racist or anything like that. I just clearly wanted him to swear at me in English so everyone else could hear what he was saying,” he added.
Warner, who has recently checked his aggressive behaviour, further said he would not shy away from getting under the skin of the England players during the forthcoming Ashes.
“I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure that when we’re out there, we’ve got a lot of energy and buzz. Whether that’s being vocal or with my intent batting and in the field. When it comes to the Ashes, it’s a massive thing for us,” he said.
The five-match series in Australia will start from November 23.