David Warner has been Australia’s best batsman around for quite a while now. The little dynamite has been instrumental in the success achieved by Australia in all forms of the game and his numbers just reflect his importance in the team. In the ongoing edition of the IPL as well, Warner is among the leading run-getters, as he leads the Sunrisers Hyderabad by example.
However, things were not all that smooth for the southpaw till a few years ago. The marauding opener had an alcohol related issue and drinking often caused him to not give his cent percent and it was felt that Warner was underperforming. Unwanted controversies in the form of brawls didn’t help Warner’s cause either.
It was after such a low, that Warner decided to go sober and give up on drinking for a while. And the results are there to be seen by one and all! Warner has improved massively as a batsman and now, he nears almost a year since going sober.
“It was about seeing if I could go a month without having a drink and giving myself the best chance to go out and do my business,” Warner told cricket.com.au. “It helps having your wife be pregnant as well because you can do the same thing together. “It went nine months then it kept on going. “I didn’t really feel like one, it wasn’t even in my mind. “I usually have a night cap here and there, especially before a game to ease the nerves a bit. “It was more just a thing I wanted to do, a bit of a challenge,” said Warner.
Warner, however, said that had Australia won the World T20, he definitely would have had a drink. “Mind you, I had goals; if we had have won the Ashes I was going to have a drink if we won the T20 World Cup I would have had a drink,” he said. “It’s just been one of those things – I haven’t had the chance to do that and I haven’t been able to break it.”
“Those first initial couple of months, it was like, ‘When are you going to have a drink?’ and I was like, ‘I don’t have to’. “I don’t need to have a drink to enjoy myself. I think it’s more the guys are not familiar with me not drinking. “I’m pretty much the same person. The last year I haven’t changed, I’m still hyperactive as it is, and try to bring that energy to everyone,” Warner concluded.