Former Australian speedster Shaun Tait backed under-performing Delhi Capitals and their frustrated skipper David Warner to come good in the upcoming games stating that his former teammate has been in poor form, which would have led him to a change in the approach in his batting style.
Warner is second on the scoring list with 209 runs from four games for Delhi Capitals at a poor strike rate (114.38)–the lowest among top batters in the league. Warner is known for his scintillating start in the powerplay overs but has failed to live up to his expectations in the tournament so far.
Tait believes that Warner is hard on himself for the missed shots as his frustration can be felt on his face.
“You can quite clearly see on his face and his reactions after shots or missed shots, that he’s pretty frustrated as well. The only acceptable reason is that other guys around him have been pretty poor as well. Because he’s such a great player, he manages to score and lead the runs,” Shaun Tait told EspnCricinfo.
Tait said that David Warner is a legend–and he is getting toward the end of his career, however, everyone would expect him to do things he usually does in the powerplay and reckoned that Warner tried his best to score in the initial overs which didn’t pay off for the southpaw.
“With David getting toward the end of his career, maybe that’s the thing. With such a great player, a legend of the game, you expect him to come out of that and go back to something we’re used to. He was trying in the first couple of overs, but it wasn’t coming off,” Tait said.
On Tuesday against Mumbai Indians, Warner scored 51 runs at a poor strike of 108.51, with Delhi Capitals regular skipper Rishabh Pant ruled out of the cash-rich league due to a fatal car accident. David Warner was handed the responsibility to lead the Delhi team, which didn’t go according to the plan as they lost 4 out of their first four games.
It Great To Watch Him, When He Attacks Early – Shaun Tait
Shaun Tait also raised the question about Warner’s role in the team–and his discussion with their head coach Ricky Ponting about his batting and whether he wanted to bat throughout the innings by playing second fiddle role. He also shared his opinion that David Warner must try to go hard from the word go as he had more success playing aggressively as an opener.
“We don’t know what discussions he and Ricky Ponting have been having about his batting, ‘do you want to bat a bit longer?’ that sort of thing. My opinion is it’s great to watch him when he hits them around early and attacks early.”
Delhi Capitals will look to register their 1st win in this edition of the Indian Premier League when they take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in their 5th league match on April 15 at Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy Stadium.