Hyderabad: The 12-month ban a thing of the past now, David Warner Monday said he just tried to be the best father and the best husband in the aftermath of the career-threatening ball-tampering episode.
Warner and Steve Smith were handed 12-month ban by Cricket Australia for their role in ball-tampering in South Africa last year, a punishment which both the player have already served. Post the ban, Warner was in imperious form in the ongoing IPL and signed off his season with 692 runs, the highest so far in the tournament, before heading home for World Cup preparations.
“I have had time off to work harder at my game. Put the bat down for 16-18 weeks and just worked hard on being the best father and husband, that has worked for me. Yeah, I try to be the funny man in the team, the prankster,” Warner said at the post-match press conference.
Warner, who is the leading run-getter in the ongoing IPL with 692 runs, said he just backed his natural instinct. “It’s obviously great to get out there and do your job properly. We’ve got a great deck to bat on. The groundstaff have worked tirelessly to prepare good wickets and then it’s about going back to basics and backing your instincts.
“I think it just goes back to being still as a batsman. I get the tendency to moving around a bit if there have been a few dots. But I have worked hard over the last few months. The gameplan is to back yourself, just back your natural game.” Warner predicted high scores in the upcoming ODI World Cup in England, starting 30 May.
“This World Cup, you’ll see some high scores. Hopefully the ball doesn’t swing as much. Obviously England are the home team and they’re great. We’re world champions. I’m sure it’ll be great,” signed off the Sunrisers Hyderabad opener.
Warner signed off his IPL 2019 campaign in style, notching up his eight fifty of the season to help Sunrisers take a step closer towards qualifying for the play-offs with a comfortable 45-run win over Kings XI Punjab here Monday. Sunrisers skipper Kane Williamson said it was complete performance from his team on Monday.
“I guess through the season you’re looking for points and we’re in the crunch time in the tournament. It was a big game for us and it’s been close to a complete performance,” Williamson said. “Warner and (Jonny) Bairstow have been world class. Very hard to fill someone’s boots. But as a team, we’ll have to pick up the slack. You’re always looking for more runs.”
Kings XI skipper Ravihandran Ashwin said his side was completely outplayed by Sunrisers. “It’s not right to think about what’s happened in the past. It’s important to stay in the present. Today is one of those days where we were were just completely outplayed, which hasn’t happened this season,” said Ashwin.
“I thought we started really poorly in the powerplay but we pulled it back in the end. If you see through the tournament, we have been struggling to chase anything above 190. That’s probably a balance issue. It’s straightforward. We have to keep winning at this stage in the IPL.”